Electric Consumer

Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: EIA-861, Census ACS, DOE LEAD, FEMA National Risk Index, OpenFEMA NFIP · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Counties in Montana ranked

9.1%of income goes to home energy in Carter County, the highest of 53 Montana counties

Gallatin County is lowest at 1.9%, a gap of 4.7 times. The median Montana county sits at 4.4%, against 3.3% for the median U.S. county. Source for Montana: DOE LEAD 2022.

Montana county map

Montana counties, shaded by quintile of the selected measureGarfield County: no page, no dataPowder River County: 5.8%Fallon County: 4.4%Sweet Grass County: 3.8%Lewis and Clark County: 2.3%Ravalli County: 3.2%Petroleum County: 5.5%Meagher County: 5.3%Beaverhead County: 3.2%Wheatland County: 4.3%Custer County: 3.3%Daniels County: 9.1%Flathead County: 2.8%Blaine County: 4.7%Hill County: 4.6%Powell County: 3.5%Mineral County: 4.3%Silver Bow County: 2.8%Madison County: 4.8%Granite County: 4.5%Carbon County: 3.5%Lincoln County: 5.0%Dawson County: 2.8%Stillwater County: 3.0%Missoula County: 2.2%Gallatin County: 1.9%Judith Basin County: 5.6%Prairie County: 5.2%Teton County: 4.3%Big Horn County: 5.6%Glacier County: no page, no dataValley County: 4.0%Park County: 3.2%Wibaux County: 4.5%Jefferson County: 2.9%Broadwater County: 4.6%Sheridan County: 7.0%Carter County: 9.1%Treasure County: 6.1%Yellowstone County: 2.2%Pondera County: 4.0%Phillips County: 4.9%Rosebud County: 5.5%Toole County: no page, no dataFergus County: 3.8%McCone County: 5.2%Lake County: 3.2%Musselshell County: 7.2%Deer Lodge County: 3.5%Cascade County: 2.4%Chouteau County: 5.5%Golden Valley County: 7.3%Sanders County: 5.7%Richland County: 2.9%Liberty County: 4.5%Roosevelt County: 4.6%
  • 1.9% to 3.2%
  • 3.2% to 4.0%
  • 4.0% to 4.6%
  • 4.6% to 5.5%
  • 5.5% to 9.1%

Montana counties, darker = higher. Click one for its page.

Highest energy burden in Montana

Carter County leads Montana on burden at 9.1% of income and Daniels County follows at 9.1%. For lower-income homes the top is Daniels County: 27.0% of income, against 13.6% in the median Montana county.

home energy burden, % of income, top 10 Montana counties

  • Carter County9.1
  • Daniels County9.1
  • Golden Valley County7.3
  • Musselshell County7.2
  • Sheridan County7.0
  • Treasure County6.1
  • Powder River County5.8
  • Sanders County5.7
  • Judith Basin County5.6
  • Big Horn County5.6
  • Montana median county4.4
Montana counties with the lowest home energy burden
Lowest burden in MontanaShare of income (MT)Residents (MT)
Gallatin County1.9%122,194
Missoula County2.2%119,639
Yellowstone County2.2%167,340
Lewis and Clark County2.3%72,580
Cascade County2.4%84,601

Storm reports and FEMA risk in Montana

NOAA logged 328 damaging-wind, tornado, tropical, ice, winter and heat reports in Pondera County from 2015 to 2025, 5,456 for every 100,000 residents: the most in Montana. FEMA scores Flathead County highest at 86.5 (relatively moderate). In Montana these are weather reports and an index, not outage counts.

Montana top 5: Storm reports per 100,000 residents
Top 5 in Montanareports 2015-2025 (MT)Residents (MT)Rank (MT)
Pondera County5,4566,0121st
Valley County4,2447,5402nd
Teton County3,6886,2913rd
Stillwater County3,3699,0524th
Chouteau County2,6155,8885th
Montana top 5: FEMA risk score
Top 5 in Montanascore 0-100 (MT)Residents (MT)Rank (MT)
Flathead County86.5108,4451st
Yellowstone County83.6167,3402nd
Cascade County83.184,6013rd
Gallatin County81.0122,1944th
Ravalli County78.545,8075th

Flood claims and flood insurance in Montana

Stillwater County has the most NFIP flood claims per 1,000 homes in Montana: 6.0 from 2015 to 2025, against 1.0 in the median Montana county. Custer County has the highest share of homes with flood insurance (11.7%, median county 0.4%). Claims are a record of insured losses, not outage counts.

Montana top 5: Flood claims per 1,000 homes
Top 5 in Montanaclaims 2015-2025 (MT)Residents (MT)Rank (MT)
Stillwater County6.09,0521st
Park County3.317,4842nd
Carbon County2.910,8773rd
Lewis and Clark County1.372,5804th
Valley County1.27,5405th
Montana top 5: Flood insurance penetration
Top 5 in Montana% of homes insured (MT)Residents (MT)Rank (MT)
Custer County11.7%11,9381st
Stillwater County0.9%9,0522nd
Park County0.8%17,4843rd
Carbon County0.8%10,8774th
Flathead County0.8%108,4455th

FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP, as of 8 Sep 2026. Flood claims by county.

Outliers: Montana counties far from the state median

6 county-measure pairs sit 3 or more scaled median-absolute-deviation units from the Montana median. Most extreme: Custer County, share of homes with flood insurance 11.7% against a median of 0.4%.

Montana outliers by deviation from the state median
CountyMeasureValueMontana medianDeviations
Custer CountyFlood insurance penetration11.7%0.4%+45.0
Stillwater CountyFlood claims per 1,000 homes6.01.0+6.8
Lake CountyHomes heated by electricity57%19%+5.1
Lincoln CountyHomes heated by electricity49%19%+4.0
Pondera CountyStorm reports per 100,000 residents5,4561,342+3.2
Park CountyFlood claims per 1,000 homes3.31.0+3.1

Old homes, electric heat and utilities in Montana

Daniels County has the oldest stock: 88% of homes date from before 1980. Electric heat is most common in Lake County at 57% of homes, and Sanders County lists 5 utilities, the most in Montana.

Montana top 5: Homes built before 1980
Top 5 in Montana% of homes (MT)Residents (MT)Rank (MT)
Daniels County88%1,5241st
Valley County79%7,5402nd
Dawson County78%8,8743rd
Deer Lodge County77%9,5124th
Custer County75%11,9385th
Montana top 5: Homes heated by electricity
Top 5 in Montana% of homes (MT)Residents (MT)Rank (MT)
Lake County57%32,0731st
Lincoln County49%20,6562nd
McCone County40%1,8183rd
Treasure County40%7614th
Flathead County37%108,4455th

Find your Montana county

  • Pick a Montana county to see its ranks.

All 53 Montana counties, sortable

53 Montana counties, all measures
Beaverhead County9,5903.2%8.8%2,15842.950%32%1no data0.5%207
Big Horn County12,9635.6%16.2%1,59757.259%29%3no data0.1%207
Blaine County6,9974.7%14.6%1,24345.969%16%2no data0.3%87
Broadwater County7,3104.6%15.7%1,19017.732%20%1no data0.1%87
Carbon County10,8773.5%11.1%2,57459.854%19%32.90.8%280
Carter County1,3619.1%23.2%under 5,000 residents1.759%14%1no datano data110
Cascade County84,6012.4%8.0%24883.167%15%20.50.7%210
Chouteau County5,8885.5%17.4%2,61539.565%14%2no data0.1%154
Custer County11,9383.3%13.3%99742.175%23%11.011.7%119
Daniels County1,5249.1%27.0%under 5,000 residents1.888%22%1no datano data44
Dawson County8,8742.8%8.7%1,82663.878%23%2no data0.1%162
Deer Lodge County9,5123.5%9.0%75717.677%22%1no data0.3%72
Fallon County2,8174.4%20.9%under 5,000 residents5.453%17%1no data0.1%120
Fergus County11,5813.8%11.7%2,09045.166%16%2no data0.4%242
Flathead County108,4452.8%9.8%22086.537%37%20.30.8%239
Gallatin County122,1941.9%7.4%22381.030%31%20.30.8%273
Golden Valley County8407.3%24.3%under 5,000 residents1.063%9%2no datano data109
Granite County3,4194.5%11.3%under 5,000 residents9.454%16%2no data0.5%178
Hill County16,2604.6%13.5%92950.472%13%1no data0.1%151
Jefferson County12,5012.9%11.5%36821.643%14%1no data0.3%46
Judith Basin County2,0535.6%24.1%under 5,000 residents5.566%14%2no datano data107
Lake County32,0733.2%11.1%70267.743%57%3no data0.2%225
Lewis and Clark County72,5802.3%8.1%41371.248%25%11.30.6%300
Liberty County1,9684.5%12.8%under 5,000 residents6.375%26%1no data0.2%129
Lincoln County20,6565.0%14.0%33464.347%49%2no data0.5%69
Madison County8,9754.8%13.6%2,36241.034%18%1no data0.6%212
McCone County1,8185.2%19.6%under 5,000 residents5.271%40%1no datano data118
Meagher County1,9795.3%24.2%under 5,000 residents2.860%12%2no data0.5%73
Mineral County4,7964.3%14.2%under 5,000 residents7.348%18%2no data0.6%85
Missoula County119,6392.2%7.4%23677.046%33%30.90.5%282
Musselshell County5,0687.2%20.3%1,44017.059%12%3no data0.5%73
Park County17,4843.2%12.0%1,93366.354%26%23.30.8%338
Petroleum County4015.5%17.6%under 5,000 residents1.352%18%1no datano data61
Phillips County4,2244.9%13.9%under 5,000 residents34.559%14%1no data0.3%303
Pondera County6,0124.0%12.6%5,45624.673%20%1no datano data328
Powder River County1,7625.8%22.1%under 5,000 residents4.056%16%2no data0.1%94
Powell County7,0293.5%8.2%1,82110.071%21%2no data0.4%128
Prairie County1,2515.2%16.4%under 5,000 residents4.273%10%1no datano data66
Ravalli County45,8073.2%10.8%30878.540%20%2no data0.4%141
Richland County11,3292.9%11.9%1,03352.748%30%3no data0.2%117
Roosevelt County10,6654.6%14.5%1,59454.562%15%2no data0.1%170
Rosebud County8,2365.5%20.6%2,17349.754%36%2no data0.1%179
Sanders County12,9365.7%17.0%1,78647.441%23%5no data0.4%231
Sheridan County3,6777.0%24.6%under 5,000 residents15.175%25%1no datano data104
Silver Bow County35,5892.8%7.8%20838.075%23%1no data0.2%74
Stillwater County9,0523.0%12.3%3,36916.844%11%36.00.9%305
Sweet Grass County3,7133.8%12.0%under 5,000 residents8.152%19%2no data0.5%429
Teton County6,2914.3%11.7%3,68819.071%13%1no data0.4%232
Treasure County7616.1%20.5%under 5,000 residents0.556%40%2no datano data36
Valley County7,5404.0%15.3%4,24435.979%17%11.20.3%320
Wheatland County2,0494.3%17.7%under 5,000 residents3.569%18%2no data0.2%263
Wibaux County1,1484.5%15.1%under 5,000 residents11.164%9%2no data0.4%58
Yellowstone County167,3402.2%8.2%11583.648%22%30.70.4%193

Download CSV, 53 rows

Montana: click a header to sort. Per-capita storm rates start at 5,000 residents.

Sources

Montana sources with periods and retrieval dates
SourcePeriodRetrieved
DOE LEAD (MT)20222 Oct 2026
FEMA NRI (MT)Dec 20252 Oct 2026
NOAA Storm Events (MT)2015 to 20252 Oct 2026
Census ACS (MT)2019 to 20232 Oct 2026
EIA-861 (MT)20241 Oct 2026

Montana LEAD figures are group estimates, not bills. Methodology.

Keep going

Other states: Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York.

Questions

Which Montana county has the highest home energy burden?

Carter County: 9.1% of income, against 4.4% for the median Montana county (DOE LEAD 2022).

Which Montana county has the lowest energy burden?

Gallatin County at 1.9% of income.

How does Montana compare with the whole country?

The median Montana county has a burden of 4.4% and the median U.S. county 3.3%, across 53 Montana counties and 3,053 U.S. counties with data.

Where do storms cause the most trouble in Montana?

Pondera County has the most NOAA storm reports per 100,000 residents: 5,456 between 2015 and 2025.

Which Montana county has the highest FEMA risk score?

Flathead County: 86.5, rated relatively moderate by FEMA (Dec 2025).

Where are the oldest homes in Montana?

Daniels County: 88% of homes were built before 1980; the median Montana county is at 59% (Census ACS 2023).

Which Montana county relies most on electric heat?

Lake County: 57% of homes heat with electricity, against 19% in the median county.

Which Montana county has the most flood claims per home?

Stillwater County: 6.0 NFIP claims per 1,000 homes from 2015 to 2025; the median Montana county has 1.0 (FEMA OpenFEMA).

Are storm reports the same as power outages in Montana?

No: in Montana they are weather reports, not outage counts.

Where can Montana households get help with bills?

See the Montana help page. Highest burden: Carter County.

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9.1% of income goes to home energy in Carter County, the highest of 53 Montana counties