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Cliff-Zone Families
27,374
Total Wage Suppression
$19.9M
State Avg Cliff Zone
17.6%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Montana, an estimated 27,374 families across 56 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowstone County | 168,957 | 15.9% | 4,210 | $3.1M | 474% |
| Flathead County | 110,695 | 16.6% | 2,786 | $2.0M | 474% |
| Missoula County | 120,672 | 16.4% | 2,415 | $1.8M | 474% |
| Cascade County | 84,606 | 18.0% | 2,327 | $1.7M | 474% |
| Gallatin County | 124,074 | 14.1% | 2,208 | $1.6M | 501% |
| Lewis and Clark County | 73,464 | 16.6% | 1,626 | $1.2M | 474% |
| Ravalli County | 46,727 | 19.2% | 1,136 | $827K | 474% |
| Silver Bow County | 35,785 | 19.0% | 925 | $673K | 474% |
| Lake County | 32,561 | 19.3% | 778 | $566K | 474% |
| Lincoln County | 21,175 | 23.5% | 617 | $449K | 474% |
| Hill County | 16,155 | 22.1% | 544 | $396K | 474% |
| Glacier County | 13,637 | 26.8% | 495 | $360K | 474% |
| Big Horn County | 12,891 | 29.9% | 480 | $349K | 474% |
| Park County | 17,710 | 16.3% | 426 | $310K | 474% |
| Jefferson County | 12,774 | 15.3% | 379 | $276K | 474% |
| Custer County | 11,961 | 18.2% | 376 | $274K | 474% |
| Richland County | 11,235 | 20.3% | 359 | $261K | 474% |
| Fergus County | 11,687 | 17.3% | 317 | $231K | 474% |
| Sanders County | 13,285 | 21.6% | 315 | $229K | 474% |
| Broadwater County | 7,668 | 20.8% | 307 | $223K | 474% |
| Carbon County | 11,116 | 17.6% | 304 | $221K | 474% |
| Rosebud County | 8,165 | 21.4% | 274 | $199K | 474% |
| Powell County | 7,053 | 26.8% | 267 | $194K | 474% |
| Dawson County | 8,827 | 16.4% | 249 | $181K | 474% |
| Stillwater County | 9,182 | 17.3% | 232 | $169K | 474% |
| Beaverhead County | 9,713 | 19.0% | 218 | $159K | 474% |
| Blaine County | 6,949 | 21.8% | 203 | $148K | 474% |
| Roosevelt County | 10,526 | 20.4% | 200 | $146K | 474% |
| Pondera County | 6,035 | 22.5% | 194 | $141K | 474% |
| Phillips County | 4,221 | 26.6% | 184 | $134K | 474% |
| Teton County | 6,353 | 20.0% | 173 | $126K | 474% |
| Chouteau County | 5,906 | 23.6% | 169 | $123K | 474% |
| Valley County | 7,519 | 17.2% | 160 | $116K | 474% |
| Madison County | 9,223 | 13.6% | 155 | $113K | 474% |
| Mineral County | 4,959 | 20.7% | 132 | $96K | 474% |
| Toole County | 5,061 | 24.4% | 125 | $91K | 474% |
| Granite County | 3,462 | 21.5% | 111 | $81K | 474% |
| Musselshell County | 5,152 | 18.0% | 110 | $80K | 474% |
| Sweet Grass County | 3,720 | 17.9% | 97 | $71K | 474% |
| Deer Lodge County | 9,597 | 12.2% | 94 | $68K | 474% |
| Sheridan County | 3,669 | 20.8% | 92 | $67K | 474% |
| Wheatland County | 2,056 | 22.6% | 71 | $52K | 474% |
| Judith Basin County | 2,071 | 20.8% | 67 | $49K | 474% |
| Fallon County | 2,760 | 21.0% | 65 | $47K | 474% |
| Powder River County | 1,815 | 20.4% | 51 | $37K | 474% |
| Liberty County | 1,952 | 19.7% | 50 | $36K | 474% |
| McCone County | 1,670 | 17.4% | 48 | $35K | 474% |
| Garfield County | 1,094 | 24.5% | 48 | $35K | 474% |
| Meagher County | 2,007 | 17.9% | 44 | $32K | 474% |
| Carter County | 1,308 | 18.0% | 33 | $24K | 474% |
| Treasure County | 732 | 19.9% | 29 | $21K | 474% |
| Wibaux County | 1,193 | 9.6% | 23 | $17K | 474% |
| Daniels County | 1,494 | 14.3% | 22 | $16K | 474% |
| Prairie County | 1,250 | 20.9% | 22 | $16K | 474% |
| Golden Valley County | 899 | 16.8% | 18 | $13K | 474% |
| Petroleum County | 447 | 19.9% | 14 | $10K | 474% |
56 of 56 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.