About one in 12 people with a credit file in Nemaha County, Kansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Nemaha County, 8.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Nemaha County's score
In Nemaha County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 18.0. Jobs are the lowest part, at 7.4. About one in nine adults aged 25 to 54 (11.8%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Nemaha County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Nemaha County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 18.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.6% · 202412th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.3% · 20247th percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,752 · 202423rd percentile
-
- 15.7 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent13.9% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.8% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
-
- 10.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.2% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score24.0% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
-
- 9.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people59.3 · 202514th percentile
-
- 7.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20269th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.8% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
-
Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Nemaha County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Nemaha County, 20.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Nemaha County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Nemaha County rose most in two steps: 13.2% in 1974 to 15.9% in 1979; 15.8% in 2004 to 18.5% in 2009.
In Nemaha County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1969, reaching 18.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Nemaha County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Nemaha County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 4.6% in 2019 to 2.9% in 2020.
The share of households in Nemaha County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 3.3%
Low on the chart: 2.9% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Nemaha County, Kansas.
How Nemaha County has changed
Nemaha County's population fell 15% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 11,240. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Nemaha County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Nemaha County rose by about half to 5,766, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 5,766. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Nemaha County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.5% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.1% | 2024 8.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,898 | 2024 $77,752 |
The table uses 2.7% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Nemaha County's history
1855
Established August 25, 1855. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 20,376. The 2020 Census counted 10,273, 50% of the peak. Census Bureau
1993
A tornado in May 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in June 1998 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1967
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Nemaha County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Nemaha County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Nemaha County, in Kansas and Nebraska, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Nemaha County ranks 6th of the seven; Marshall County is highest, at 29.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pawnee County, NE | 36 | 12.9% | 26.5% |
| Brown County, KS | 29 | 13.1% | 27.7% |
| Marshall County, KS | 22 | 11.7% | 29.3% |
| Richardson County, NE | 18 | 11.4% | 27.4% |
| Jackson County, KS | 17 | 8.4% | 23.5% |
| Pottawatomie County, KS | 1 | 6.8% | 15.2% |
| Nemaha County, KS | 0 | 8.6% | 18.0% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Nemaha County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Nemaha County's poverty rate was 8.6% in 2024, 93rd highest of 105 in Kansas (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Riley County, at 18.1%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Nemaha County ranks 104th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Nemaha County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
-
Kansas Legal Services
Legal aid
-
HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Nemaha County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Nemaha County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.