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Powder River County, MT

Migration of people and income, 20222023 filing years

At a glance (2023)

Cost of living
91
9% below the U.S. average
Median home value
$149,400
national $303,400
Monthly rent
$609
national $1,348
Homeownership
78%
national 65%
Unemployment
2.6%
national 3.6%
Household income
$68,009
national $78,538
Median age
48.6 yrs
national 38.7

Cost of living is the statewide price level for Montana (state avg).

The cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. The median home is valued at $149,400 (nominal). Median rent is about $609 a month. Unemployment averaged 2.6% in 2023 (national 3.6%). Median household income is $68,009. These figures describe all residents, not just tax filers, come from separate sources than the migration data on this page, and do not indicate why anyone moved.

Not enough data to report

Too few tax filers moved to or from Powder River County, MT, one of the least-populated county in Montana at about 1,743 residents, for the IRS to publish migration figures above its disclosure threshold in the 20222023 filing years. To protect taxpayer privacy, the IRS withholds flows that involve too few returns, which most often affects the smallest counties. Figures may appear in other years. The population and local context below come from Census and other federal sources, a separate universe from the IRS filer data. How the data works.

Net migration by year

Net 2012–2018: -$5.5M (+97 people)
20122018
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Net AGI and net people by year (nominal dollars)
YearNet AGINet people
2012+$474K+23
2013-$5.8M+42
2014+$1.1M+61
2016-$393K+12
2017-$18K-21
2018-$829K-20
Migration in context

How big is this move, relative to the county?

Population
1,744
Census 2023 estimate
Net migration rate
net people per 1,000 residents
Net income per resident
nominal dollars

The rate lets you compare Powder River County, MT with a countyof any size: it’s the net flow divided by population. The IRS counts tax filers; population counts all residents, so read the rate as a scale indicator, not a literal share of people.

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Components of population change · 2023 (Census)

Where the county’s overall change came from. Census counts all residents; the IRS migration above is one slice of the domestic-migration component.

Births
+17
Deaths
-18
Net domestic migration
+15
Net international migration
0
Total change
+16

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program. Figures are people, not tax filers.

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Income & cost of living

What a dollar is worth here

Prices around Powder River County, MT run about 9% below the national average. In plain terms: $100 spent here buys about what $110 buys in the average American community. The figures below apply that to income, each compared to the U.S. average of $70,002 per person.

Income per person
$46,368
what people here earn (BEA 2023, nominal)
34% below the U.S. average
Price level
91.0
100 = U.S. average prices (BEA price parity)
everyday costs about 9.0% lower than average
What that income buys
$50,946
local income restated at U.S.-average prices
27% below the U.S. average
Cheaper than U.S. avgU.S. average (100)Pricier

This county isn't in a metro area that BEA prices separately, so cost of living shows the Montana (state avg) figure.

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Where the cost comes from · price parity by category

Index where 100 = U.S. average for that category. Housing is usually what separates one place from another.

Housing & rents76.8
Goods96.5
Utilities72.8
Other services93.6

Housing is measured from rents (including an estimated rental value for owner-occupied homes), so a run-up in purchase prices shows here only as it reaches rents. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer income above. How the data works.

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Who lives here

The people of Powder River County, MT

American Community Survey, 2019–2023 (a 5-year average of all residents, not just tax filers).

Median age
48.6
years
Median household income
$68,009
per household (ACS 2019–2023, nominal)
13% below the U.S. median
College degree
25%
adults 25+ with a bachelor's or higher
Poverty rate
9.7%
residents below the poverty line
Average commute
20 min
mean travel time to work
Broadband at home
78%
households with any broadband
Race and ethnicity (share of residents)
White 87%Hispanic 2%Black 0%Asian 2%Other 10%

White, Black, and Asian counts are people who are not Hispanic or Latino; Hispanic or Latino can be of any race. Shares are rounded and may not total 100.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer data. A 5-year estimate is an average over 2019–2023; compare years at least five apart, since consecutive windows overlap. How the data works.

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Housing · what it costs to live here (ACS 2019–2023)

Median home value
$149,400
owner-occupied homes
51% below the U.S. median
Median rent
$609
gross rent per month
55% below the U.S. median
Homeownership
78%
of occupied homes are owner-occupied

Home value is what owners estimate their homes are worth, not recent sale prices. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023), nominal dollars. How the data works.

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Local economy & risk

Jobs and natural hazards

Unemployment rate
2.6%
BLS 2023 annual average
Labor force
869
846 employed
Disaster declarations
major federal, 2023

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS) and FEMA. A disaster declaration marks federal assistance eligibility, not damage severity, and says nothing about why anyone moved. How the data works.

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Unemployment now
1.8%
April 2026 · ▼ 0.9 points vs April 2025
January 2024April 2026

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS). Monthly unemployment for this county, not seasonally adjusted. Updated every month, so it moves faster than the annual average above. How the data works.

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How Powder River County, MT has voted. Certified returns, popular vote only. This is a separate dataset from the migration figures on this page.

YearDemocraticRepublicanOtherMarginTotal
202413196312R +75.21,106
202015497012R +71.81,136
201612788442R +71.91,053
201217083324R +64.61,027
2008208802394R +42.31,404
200415485619R +68.21,029
200011586033R +73.91,008

Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab county returns (CC0). Margins are the popular-vote gap as a share of all votes cast.

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