Daniels County

Daniels County is a rural county in northeastern Montana, bordering Saskatchewan, Canada, and situated within the northern Great Plains. Created in 1920 from parts of Valley County and named for frontier jurist Wilbur F. Sanders, it developed around homesteading and the expansion of rail and road connections across the prairie. The county is small in population, with fewer than 2,000 residents in the 2020 census, and is characterized by widely spaced communities and an agricultural economy centered on dryland farming and cattle ranching. Its landscape consists mainly of open prairie, cultivated fields, and rolling plains, with local life shaped by small-town institutions and cross-border regional ties. The county seat and largest community is Scobey, which serves as the primary center for government services, education, and commerce.

Daniels County is a sparsely populated county in far northeastern Montana, along the U.S.–Canada border. The county seat is Scobey, and the area is part of Montana’s Hi-Line region.

Population Size

According to the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for Daniels County, Montana, the county’s population was 1,655 (2020).

Age & Gender

According to the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for Daniels County, Montana (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), age and sex characteristics include:

• Persons under 18 years: 18.8%
• Persons 65 years and over: 25.9%
• Female persons: 48.6%
• Male persons: 51.4% (derived from the female share)

Racial & Ethnic Composition

According to the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for Daniels County, Montana (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), racial and ethnic composition includes:

• White alone: 93.9%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 2.7%
• Two or more races: 2.8%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 1.4%

Household & Housing Data

According to the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for Daniels County, Montana (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), household and housing indicators include:

• Households: 792
• Persons per household: 2.00
• Owner-occupied housing unit rate: 74.9%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $123,000
• Median gross rent: $621
• Housing units: 1,034

Local Government Reference

For local government and planning resources, visit the Daniels County official website.

Daniels County in far northeastern Montana is a large, sparsely populated prairie county where long distances between towns and low population density can limit last‑mile broadband buildout, affecting day‑to‑day digital communication such as email.

Direct county‑level email usage statistics are not routinely published; email adoption is commonly inferred from proxy indicators such as household broadband subscriptions, computer access, and age structure reported by the U.S. Census Bureau (data.census.gov).

Digital access indicators (proxy for email access)

The most relevant published measures are American Community Survey estimates of household computer ownership and broadband internet subscriptions for Daniels County (Table S2801 and related tables via U.S. Census Bureau data). Lower broadband subscription rates generally correspond to more constrained routine email access at home.

Age and gender distribution

County age distribution from the ACS indicates the share of older residents versus working‑age adults, a key proxy because older age cohorts tend to show lower adoption of online communication tools. Gender distribution is typically near parity and is not a primary driver compared with access and age.

Connectivity and infrastructure limitations

Rural terrain and dispersed housing increase network deployment costs and can constrain speed/choice, consistent with patterns documented in the FCC National Broadband Map.

Daniels County is in far northeastern Montana along the Canadian border, with Scobey as the county seat. It is sparsely populated and predominantly rural, with large distances between settlements and extensive agricultural land. This low population density and the flat-to-gently rolling prairie terrain typical of the region generally reduce the economic incentives for dense cell-site deployment and can create coverage gaps on secondary roads and between small communities.

Data scope and limitations (county vs. state vs. national)

County-specific, directly measured statistics for mobile phone ownership, smartphone type, and mobile-only internet adoption are limited in many federal datasets because sample sizes are often too small to publish reliable county estimates. As a result:

• Network availability is best documented through federal coverage reporting and broadband mapping.
• Household adoption and device usage are typically available at the state level (Montana) and sometimes for larger geographies, with county-level estimates often unavailable or suppressed.

Key sources used for distinguishing availability from adoption include the FCC National Broadband Map for availability and U.S. Census Bureau (ACS) for household internet subscription indicators. See the FCC National Broadband Map and Census.gov (data portal).

County context affecting mobile connectivity (rural settlement pattern and infrastructure)

• Rural settlement pattern: Daniels County’s residents are concentrated in a small number of towns and many live on farms or in very small unincorporated clusters. This increases reliance on coverage along highways and within towns, while making “fill-in” coverage between towns less common.
• Backhaul and siting constraints: Rural cell sites depend on long-haul fiber or microwave backhaul; limited middle-mile infrastructure can constrain upgrades and densification.
• Cross-border geography: Proximity to Canada can introduce spectrum coordination considerations near the international border, which can influence network planning and power limits in border areas (documented in telecommunications coordination generally, but not typically quantified at the county level in public consumer datasets).

Network availability (coverage) vs. household adoption (use)

This distinction is central:

Network availability (what networks report they can serve)

Availability refers to whether mobile broadband service is reported as available in a location, not whether residents subscribe or use it.

• 4G LTE: In rural Montana counties, LTE is commonly the baseline mobile broadband layer, with stronger coverage in towns and along major road corridors. County-specific coverage footprints and provider-by-provider availability are best checked through the FCC National Broadband Map, which allows searching by county and filtering by technology.
• 5G (including “5G NR”): In rural areas, 5G availability often appears as:
  • Low-band 5G (broad coverage, modest speed gains over LTE) where deployed by carriers, and
  • Limited or no mid-band/high-band density outside towns. The FCC map provides the most consistent public view of reported 5G availability by location and provider. County-specific statements about the extent of 5G in Daniels County require map-based validation rather than generalized statewide assumptions.

Important limitation: FCC availability is based on provider reporting and modeled coverage. It does not measure indoor signal quality or real-world performance and does not equal adoption.

Household adoption (who subscribes and what they use)

Adoption refers to whether households actually subscribe to internet service (including cellular data plans) and what devices they use.

• The American Community Survey (ACS) reports household internet subscription categories (such as cellular data plans) but county tables can be suppressed or unreliable for small counties. The most direct way to check what is published for Daniels County is via Census.gov using ACS “Computer and Internet Use” tables.
• For Montana-level broadband adoption context and state planning materials (which may include modeled or programmatic county insights), see the Montana State Broadband Office.

Mobile penetration or access indicators (where available)

County-level “mobile penetration” (phone ownership) is not typically published as a standalone metric for a small county like Daniels in federal datasets. Public indicators that partially proxy access include:

• ACS household internet subscription type (including cellular data plans): This indicates households that report using a cellular data plan as an internet subscription, sometimes alongside other services. Availability at the county level depends on ACS publication thresholds. Access via Census.gov.
• ACS device availability (computer/smartphone): ACS also reports whether households have computing devices, including smartphones, though county-level detail may be limited. Access via Census.gov.
• FCC broadband availability data (mobile): Indicates where mobile broadband is reported available, not whether residents have service. Source: FCC National Broadband Map.

Because Daniels County is small, statewide survey data and program reports often provide context but do not substitute for county-specific penetration rates.

Mobile internet usage patterns (4G vs. 5G availability and typical rural usage characteristics)

4G LTE usage patterns (typical in rural counties)

• Primary mobile broadband layer: LTE is commonly the most widely available mobile internet technology across rural geographies, supporting general smartphone use (messaging, navigation, media streaming where capacity allows).
• Performance variability: Even where LTE is “available,” real-world throughput can vary substantially with distance from towers, terrain, tower backhaul capacity, and user load—factors that can be more pronounced in rural areas with fewer sites.

5G usage patterns (availability vs. practical experience)

• Coverage-first 5G: Rural 5G deployments are often designed to extend coverage rather than deliver consistently high speeds everywhere. Where 5G is present, speed and latency benefits depend on spectrum band, carrier deployment, and backhaul.
• Town-centric upgrades: In many rural counties, the most noticeable 5G availability tends to cluster in towns or near key corridors rather than across all farmland and secondary roads. County confirmation requires checking the FCC map by location rather than inferring from regional patterns.

For Daniels County-specific availability, the authoritative public reference is the FCC National Broadband Map, which can be filtered for 4G LTE and 5G mobile broadband.

Common device types (smartphones vs. other devices)

Direct county-level device mix (smartphones vs. feature phones vs. hotspots) is rarely published for small counties. The most consistently available public indicators come from ACS “Computer and Internet Use,” which includes smartphone presence at the household level but may be limited for Daniels County due to sample size.

General patterns often documented in rural broadband planning (not specific to Daniels County unless explicitly stated in a source):

• Smartphones are typically the most common personal mobile device used for communications and internet access.
• Mobile hotspots and fixed wireless/other home services can play a role where wired options are limited, but the extent in Daniels County requires published adoption data (often unavailable at the county level).

Relevant datasets and planning context are accessible through Census.gov and the Montana State Broadband Office.

Demographic and geographic factors influencing mobile usage in Daniels County

• Population density and settlement dispersion: Low density increases per-user infrastructure costs, which can translate into fewer towers and more distance-related signal variability.
• Agricultural land use and travel patterns: Coverage along major routes and within town limits tends to be more consistent than in remote areas, affecting how residents experience service during travel between farms and towns.
• Income and affordability factors: Household adoption of mobile plans and home internet options is influenced by affordability. County-specific affordability and subscription breakdowns are not always published, but ACS provides broader measures where available through Census.gov.
• Age structure and technology adoption: Rural counties often have older age distributions than urban centers, which can correlate with different device preferences and adoption patterns. County-level age structure is available from the Census Bureau, but linking age to mobile device usage at the county level typically requires survey data that is not published for small counties.

Practical interpretation for Daniels County (with clear separation of concepts)

• Availability: The most defensible county-level statements about 4G/5G presence come from location-based coverage reporting in the FCC National Broadband Map.
• Adoption: The most defensible public measures of household internet subscription types and device availability come from ACS tables accessed via Census.gov, though Daniels County estimates may be missing or statistically unreliable due to small sample sizes.

For county administrative context and local geography, see the Daniels County, Montana official website.

Daniels County is a sparsely populated county in northeastern Montana along the North Dakota border, with Scobey as the county seat. The local economy is strongly tied to agriculture and small-town services, and the county’s low population density and older age profile (common across many rural Montana counties) tend to align with lower overall social media adoption, heavier reliance on Facebook, and comparatively lower use of visual-first and fast-changing platforms than in large metro areas.

User statistics (penetration / active use)

• County-specific social media penetration is not published in major federal datasets (such as the U.S. Census Bureau) and is not routinely available from reputable survey organizations at the county level for very small rural counties.
• Best available proxies use national and rural benchmarks:
  • U.S. adults using at least one social media site: ~69% (Pew Research Center’s national social media tracking). See Pew Research Center’s Social Media Fact Sheet.
  • Rural vs. urban gap: Pew consistently finds lower adoption in rural areas than in urban/suburban areas across several platforms, especially Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and LinkedIn. See Pew’s platform-by-community-type breakdowns.
• Interpretation for Daniels County: overall social media participation is expected to be below the U.S. adult average, driven mainly by rural access patterns and an older-than-average age distribution typical of frontier counties in Montana.

Age group trends (highest-using groups)

National patterns from Pew are the most reliable reference point for age-by-platform usage:

• Highest overall social media use: 18–29 and 30–49.
• Platform skew by age (national):
  • TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram: strongest concentration among 18–29.
  • Facebook: broadest age spread, with substantial usage among 30–49, 50–64, and 65+.
  • YouTube: high across most age groups, including older adults. Source: Pew Research Center social media fact sheet (age breakdowns).
    Daniels County implication: the county’s smaller share of young adults relative to metros tends to elevate the importance of Facebook and YouTube compared with TikTok/Snapchat-heavy mixes.

Gender breakdown

• Overall social media use by gender (U.S. adults): typically similar between men and women, with differences emerging more by platform than by “any social media.”
• Common platform differences (national):
  • Pinterest and Instagram: higher usage among women than men.
  • Reddit: higher usage among men.
  • Facebook and YouTube: relatively balanced compared with the platforms above. Source: Pew Research Center platform-by-gender statistics.
    Daniels County implication: platform mix likely follows these national gender patterns, with Facebook remaining broadly cross-gender and Pinterest skewing more female.

Most-used platforms (percentages where available; U.S. adult benchmarks)

Because county-level platform shares are not available from major public sources, national usage rates provide the most defensible reference set:

• YouTube: ~83% of U.S. adults
• Facebook: ~68%
• Instagram: ~47%
• Pinterest: ~35%
• TikTok: ~33%
• LinkedIn: ~30%
• X (Twitter): ~22%
• Snapchat: ~27%
• WhatsApp: ~29%
  Source: Pew Research Center’s Social Media Fact Sheet (platform percentages).
  Daniels County implication: the most-used platforms are expected to be Facebook and YouTube, with Instagram and TikTok comparatively lower than national averages due to rural/age composition, while Facebook Groups and local-community pages tend to be more central in small counties.

Behavioral trends (engagement patterns / preferences)

• Local-information utility over influencer-driven discovery: In rural counties, social platforms are commonly used for community updates, local events, classifieds, and weather/road information; in practice this concentrates engagement on Facebook Pages and Groups more than on trend-driven platforms.
• Higher value on “community bulletin board” functions: Posting and sharing within established networks (neighbors, school communities, farm/ranch circles) typically produces more engagement than public-facing content.
• Video consumption remains high: With YouTube’s broad reach across ages, how-to, agriculture-related, news, and regional content often perform well relative to short-form entertainment-heavy feeds.
• Messaging and lightweight interaction: Direct messaging and comment threads on Facebook are often a primary interaction mode in small communities; this aligns with Pew findings that Facebook remains widely used across adult age brackets. Source: Pew platform usage by age and community type.
• Platform preference pattern typical of rural areas: Facebook-first, YouTube as a universal second, and lower penetration of Snapchat/TikTok relative to urban areas, consistent with Pew’s rural/urban splits. Source: Pew social media fact sheet (community type).

Daniels County, Montana public records related to family and associates include vital records, court filings, property records, and recorded documents.

Birth and death records are Montana vital records maintained at the state level by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Vital Records Section; certified copies are requested through the state rather than the county (Montana Vital Records). Adoption records are generally handled through Montana courts and state vital records processes and are not typically available as open public records.

Marriage licenses are commonly issued and recorded through the Clerk of District Court in Montana counties; contact and office information for Daniels County is provided through the county website (Daniels County, Montana (official site)). Divorce and other family court case records are filed in the District Court and may be accessed through the Montana Judicial Branch’s statewide case search for participating courts (Montana Courts – Public Access Portal), with some documents restricted from online display.

Associate-related public records (such as deeds, mortgages, liens, and other recorded instruments) are maintained by the County Clerk and Recorder and may be accessed in person; online availability varies by county and time period (Montana State Government – Agency & County Locator).

Privacy restrictions commonly apply to certified vital records, adoption files, and certain court records involving juveniles, abuse/neglect, or protected personal identifiers.

Types of records available

• Marriage records (licenses and certificates)

  • Daniels County issues marriage licenses through the county official responsible for marriage licensing (typically the Clerk of District Court in Montana counties).
  • After the marriage is solemnized and returned, the license is recorded and serves as the county’s primary marriage record.

• Divorce records (decrees and case files)

  • Divorces are handled as civil cases in Montana District Court. The final outcome is a Final Decree of Dissolution of Marriage (often called a divorce decree), along with a court case file containing pleadings and orders.

• Annulments

  • Annulments are court actions adjudicated in District Court and maintained in the court case file. The outcome is an order or judgment declaring the marriage invalid (commonly referred to as a Decree of Annulment or similar court order).

Where records are filed and how they can be accessed

• Daniels County (local filing)

  • Marriage records: Filed and maintained by the Daniels County office that issues and records marriage licenses (commonly the Clerk of District Court).
  • Divorce and annulment court records: Filed and maintained by the Daniels County District Court clerk as part of the civil case docket and case file.

• State-level vital records (Montana)

  • Montana maintains statewide vital records through the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), Office of Vital Records, which issues certified copies of eligible vital records, including marriage and divorce records as maintained under state vital records laws.
    • Reference: Montana DPHHS

• Access methods

  • Certified copies are generally obtained from the custodian office (county for recorded marriage licenses; court clerk for court-certified decrees/orders; state vital records for state-issued certified copies when available).
  • Court case access is typically available through the clerk’s office and may include public terminal review of non-confidential filings and the ability to request copies, subject to court rules and redaction policies.

Typical information included in these records

• Marriage license / recorded marriage record

  • Full names of spouses (including prior/maiden name where reported)
  • Date and place of marriage (county/city or venue)
  • Date license issued; license number or recording reference
  • Officiant name and authority; date officiant returned the completed license
  • Ages or dates of birth as recorded; residence addresses at time of application (varies by form and era)
  • Witness information may appear depending on the version of the form used

• Divorce decree (dissolution)

  • Names of parties and case caption; court, county, and cause number
  • Date of decree and findings (e.g., marriage details and jurisdictional facts)
  • Orders on dissolution terms, which may include:
    • Property and debt division
    • Spousal maintenance (alimony), if ordered
    • Parenting plan, custody/parental responsibilities, and child support (when applicable)
    • Name change orders (when granted)

• Annulment order/decree

  • Names of parties and case identifiers (court, county, cause number)
  • Date of judgment and legal basis for annulment as found by the court
  • Related orders (property allocation, parental responsibilities/support when applicable, and other relief)

Privacy or legal restrictions

• Court records (divorce/annulment)

  • Many court documents are public records, but access is limited for materials deemed confidential by statute or court rule.
  • Common restrictions include:
    • Protected personal identifiers (e.g., Social Security numbers, certain financial account numbers) subject to redaction rules
    • Confidential family law information in certain filings (e.g., reports involving minors, sensitive evaluations, or sealed exhibits)
    • Sealed records by court order are not publicly accessible except as allowed by the sealing order and governing law

• Vital records (state and local certified copies)

  • Certified copies of vital records are typically restricted to individuals with a legally recognized interest under Montana vital records statutes and administrative rules.
  • Non-certified informational copies, indexing, or limited verification may be available depending on the custodian’s policies and applicable Montana law.

• Identity and eligibility controls

  • Requesters for certified copies commonly must meet eligibility requirements and provide identification and required fees, consistent with state and local procedures.

Daniels County is in far northeastern Montana along the North Dakota and Saskatchewan (Canada) borders, with Scobey as the county seat and primary service center. It is a sparsely populated, predominantly rural county characterized by small towns, agricultural land use (grain and cattle), and long travel distances to regional hubs.

Education Indicators

• Public schools (number and names)

  • Scobey School District (Scobey): commonly organized as Scobey Public Schools (elementary and junior/senior high).
  • Plentywood School District (Plentywood) also serves parts of the broader region; district boundaries and enrollment catchments vary by address in northeastern Montana.
  • A definitive, up-to-date list of all public campuses serving Daniels County is most reliably verified through the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) directory (district/school lookups and contacts): Montana Office of Public Instruction.
    Note: Public school “count” for the county can be ambiguous in rural areas because some students attend schools in nearby counties under inter-district arrangements; OPI listings provide the authoritative inventory by district and site.

• Student–teacher ratios and graduation rates

  • County-specific ratios and graduation rates are reported through state accountability and district-level profiles rather than consistently as a single county statistic.
  • The most direct sources for the latest student–teacher staffing and graduation outcomes are:
    • Montana OPI district and school report cards: OPI school accountability and report cards
    • The U.S. Census Bureau provides educational attainment (adult) but not district graduation rates: data.census.gov
      Proxy note: In small rural districts, student–teacher ratios often fluctuate year-to-year due to small enrollment totals and multi-grade staffing.

• Adult educational attainment (high school diploma; bachelor’s degree and higher)

  • Adult attainment levels for Daniels County are best captured by the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates via data.census.gov.
  • Typical rural northeastern Montana pattern (proxy where a county extract is not available in a single table view):
    • A high share of adults with a high school diploma or some college
    • A lower share with bachelor’s degrees or higher than state and national averages
      This profile is consistent with agriculture- and trades-oriented labor markets and limited in-county higher education institutions.

• Notable programs (STEM, vocational training, Advanced Placement)

  • In Daniels County’s small-district context, career and technical education (CTE) offerings (e.g., agriculture education, skilled trades pathways) and dual credit options are common regional models, with AP availability varying by staffing and enrollment.
  • Program availability is most consistently documented in district course catalogs and OPI CTE reporting: Montana OPI (CTE and district program information).
    Proxy note: Smaller schools often emphasize multi-subject instruction, work-based learning, and regional cooperative activities rather than extensive AP course inventories.

• School safety measures and counseling resources

  • Montana districts typically maintain required safety plans, visitor management procedures, and coordination with local law enforcement; school counseling capacity is often limited by district size, with counselors frequently serving multiple grade bands.
  • State-level context and requirements are documented through OPI guidance and school safety resources: Montana OPI school safety resources.
    County-specific staffing (e.g., counselor FTE) is generally reported in district staffing reports rather than aggregated county profiles.

Employment and Economic Conditions

• Unemployment rate (most recent year available)

  • The official local unemployment rate is published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Local Area Unemployment Statistics and the Montana Department of Labor & Industry. The most current Daniels County figure is available via:
    • BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
    • Montana Department of Labor & Industry
      Proxy note: In very small labor markets, monthly rates can be volatile; annual averages are commonly used for stability.

• Major industries and employment sectors

  • Daniels County’s economy is dominated by agriculture (grain and livestock), alongside local government and public services (schools, county administration), health care and social assistance (small regional clinic and elder services), and retail/trade centered in Scobey.
  • Sector employment patterns can be approximated using the ACS industry-of-employment tables for the county: ACS industry tables on data.census.gov.

• Common occupations and workforce breakdown

  • Common occupational groupings in similarly rural Montana counties include:
    • Management/business/administrative roles (often small-firm/generalist)
    • Service occupations (health support, food service, protective services)
    • Sales and office
    • Farming, fishing, and forestry
    • Construction, extraction, and maintenance
    • Transportation and material moving
  • The most consistent county-level breakdown is available through ACS occupation tables: ACS occupation tables.

• Commuting patterns and mean commute times

  • Commuting in Daniels County typically reflects short in-town commutes for Scobey-based jobs and longer rural drives for farm/ranch operations and cross-county services.
  • Mean travel time to work and mode share (drive alone, carpool, etc.) are reported via ACS commuting tables: ACS commuting data.
    Proxy note: Rural Montana counties commonly show high “drive alone” shares and limited public transit presence.

• Local employment vs. out-of-county work

  • A meaningful share of residents work within the county (agriculture, schools, county services, local retail/health). Out-of-county commuting occurs for specialized services and regional employers, often toward larger trade centers in northeastern Montana or across state lines depending on job type.
  • LEHD/OnTheMap provides origin–destination commuting flows where available: Census OnTheMap commuting flows.
    Proxy note: Small-population confidentiality rules can suppress some detailed flow cells.

Housing and Real Estate

• Homeownership rate and rental share

  • Daniels County is typically owner-occupied in composition, reflecting single-family housing stock and longstanding residency.
  • The authoritative split of owner-occupied vs. renter-occupied units is available in ACS housing tenure tables: ACS housing tenure (owner/renter).

• Median property values and recent trends

  • Median home value for Daniels County is reported through ACS; trend comparisons are commonly made using 5-year series or additional housing market datasets: ACS median home value.
  • Proxy trend (regional): Rural northeastern Montana generally experienced slower price appreciation than Montana’s high-growth metros, with local variation tied to farm income cycles, limited inventory, and the small number of annual transactions.

• Typical rent prices

  • Median gross rent is available through ACS: ACS median gross rent.
  • Proxy context: Rental markets in small counties are commonly thin, with limited multifamily stock and rent levels driven by availability rather than large-scale development.

• Types of housing

  • The housing stock is primarily:
    • Single-family detached homes in Scobey and small town sites
    • Manufactured homes and smaller single-family structures
    • Farmsteads and rural lots outside town limits
    • Limited small apartment buildings/duplexes relative to urban areas
  • Unit type distributions can be verified in ACS “structure type” tables: ACS housing structure type.

• Neighborhood characteristics (proximity to schools/amenities)

  • In Scobey, housing tends to cluster near core amenities (school campus, courthouse/county services, basic retail, and community facilities). Outside town, residences are dispersed with greater reliance on driving for groceries, health services, and school access.
  • School and civic facility locations are commonly reflected in local government and district listings (e.g., district contact pages and county maps).

• Property tax overview (average rate and typical homeowner cost)

  • Montana property taxes are administered at the county level, with effective tax rates varying by assessed value, classification, and local levies (including school levies).
  • The most defensible summary measures for Daniels County are:
    • Median real estate taxes paid (dollars) and related owner-cost burdens from ACS: ACS property taxes paid
    • County levy and assessment context from the Montana Department of Revenue: Montana Department of Revenue (property tax)
      Proxy note: In low-price rural markets, annual tax bills can be lower in dollar terms than in high-value counties, even when levy structures are comparable.

Data availability note (county specificity): For Daniels County, the most recent standardized percentages and medians for adult education, commuting, home value, rent, tenure, and tax measures are consistently available through the ACS 5-year estimates on data.census.gov. District-level education performance measures (graduation, staffing ratios, program inventories) are most consistently reported via Montana OPI rather than as a single county aggregate.