How does Montana rank as a Distressed Community State for Tech Hub consideration?

Distressed Communities Index Report Archive

The Distressed Communities Index (DCI) illuminates geographic inequality in the United States down to the zip code level. The DCI combines seven complementary economic indicators into a single score and sorts communities into five even tiers, or quintiles, of well-being: prosperous, comfortable, mid-tier, at risk, and distressed. In all, the DCI captures more than 99 percent of the U.S. population and all 26,000-plus zip codes with at least 500 residents. (Distress scores are also calculated at the county and congressional district levels, available online and in other analyses). This year’s DCI captures the end of a decade of economic growth, during which the fruits of national expansion continued to accrue to places that were already quite well off.

$500M for New Tech Hubs Program Included in Federal Spending Bill

Congressional budget negotiators on Tuesday included an initial $500 million, in a proposed government funding package totaling roughly $1.7 trillion, to try to spur new research and industrial development around semiconductors and other related technology in parts of the country that haven’t seen their tech sectors boom.

The funding is for planning grants for regional “technology and innovation hubs” under a new federal program created earlier this year. It marks a significant step that could eventually help reshape communities that lacked the roaring tech sectors places like Seattle and California’s Bay Area have had in recent years.

Distressed Communities

Explore how your community performs on the Distressed Communities Index. Users can visualize how well-being varies across zip codes, counties, and congressional districts. Click on a geography to activate the tool. Scroll below the map to dig deeper into the factors that make up the index and the demographic composition of each community.