Nebraska County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 93 counties in Nebraska, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average Nebraska county scores 15.5.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
Nebraska Snapshot
93 Counties Scored
15.5 Mean Score
13.1 Median Score
48 Johnson County Most Distressed
0 Cedar County Least Distressed
3 moderate-low county distress12 low-moderate county distress14 low county distress23 very low county distress41 exceptionally low county distress
Score Label Distribution Nebraska County Map
Johnson County is the most distressed of Nebraska's 93 counties
County Distress Index score for Nebraska's 93 counties, from green (least distressed, 0–29) to red (most distressed, 80–100). Data from 2024 to Aug 2026.
Loading the county map…
The county map could not be loaded. Every county is in the lists on this page.
Least distressed 0–2930–4950–6970–7980–100 Most distressed
County Distress Index score · data from 2024 to Aug 2026
Point to or tap a county for its rank and score. Click it, or tap it twice, to open its page.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Nebraska's 93 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Nebraska Counties
93 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Johnson County | 48 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | — | Thurston County | 45 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 3 | — | Scotts Bluff County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 4 | — | Kimball County | 38 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 5 | — | Hall County | 38 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 6 | — | Garden County | 37 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 7 | — | Pawnee County | 36 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 8 | — | Dakota County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 9 | — | Douglas County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 10 | — | Furnas County | 33 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 11 | — | Box Butte County | 33 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 12 | — | Dawes County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 13 | — | Jefferson County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 14 | — | Boyd County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 15 | — | Hitchcock County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 16 | — | Red Willow County | 27 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 17 | — | Dodge County | 27 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 18 | — | Dawson County | 26 | low county distress | Labor |
| 19 | — | Lincoln County | 24 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 20 | — | Thomas County | 24 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 21 | — | Adams County | 22 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 22 | — | Gage County | 22 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 23 | — | Blaine County | 22 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 24 | — | Deuel County | 21 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 25 | — | Cheyenne County | 21 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 26 | — | Brown County | 21 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 27 | — | Sheridan County | 21 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 28 | — | Webster County | 21 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 29 | — | Stanton County | 20 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 30 | — | Morrill County | 19 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 31 | — | Nemaha County | 18 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 32 | — | Richardson County | 18 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 33 | — | Hooker County | 18 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 34 | — | Keith County | 18 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 35 | — | Franklin County | 17 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 36 | — | Lancaster County | 17 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 37 | — | McPherson County | 16 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 38 | — | Madison County | 16 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 39 | — | Butler County | 15 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 40 | — | Banner County | 15 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 41 | — | Platte County | 15 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 42 | — | Frontier County | 15 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 43 | — | Keya Paha County | 14 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 44 | — | Loup County | 14 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 45 | — | Colfax County | 13 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 46 | — | Sioux County | 13 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 47 | — | York County | 13 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 48 | — | Arthur County | 12 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 49 | — | Hayes County | 12 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 50 | — | Sherman County | 11 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 51 | — | Logan County | 11 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 52 | — | Custer County | 10 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 53 | — | Cherry County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 54 | — | Greeley County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 55 | — | Valley County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 56 | — | Burt County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 57 | — | Dundy County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 58 | — | Garfield County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 59 | — | Saline County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 60 | — | Chase County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 61 | — | Thayer County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 62 | — | Knox County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 63 | — | Antelope County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 64 | — | Wayne County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 65 | — | Nuckolls County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 66 | — | Grant County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 67 | — | Rock County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 68 | — | Merrick County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 69 | — | Fillmore County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 70 | — | Buffalo County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 71 | — | Wheeler County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 72 | — | Howard County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 73 | — | Harlan County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 74 | — | Phelps County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 75 | — | Sarpy County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 76 | — | Nance County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 77 | — | Otoe County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 78 | — | Gosper County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 79 | — | Cass County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 80 | — | Kearney County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 81 | — | Seward County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 82 | — | Washington County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 83 | 3,056 | Perkins County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 84 | 3,062 | Dixon County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 85 | 3,066 | Polk County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 86 | 3,073 | Cuming County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 87 | 3,086 | Saunders County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 88 | 3,088 | Pierce County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 89 | 3,094 | Holt County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 90 | 3,114 | Clay County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 91 | 3,115 | Boone County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 92 | 3,130 | Hamilton County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 93 | 3,131 | Cedar County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
extreme county distress — 0 Nebraska counties
very high county distress — 0 Nebraska counties
high county distress — 0 Nebraska counties
moderate-high county distress — 0 Nebraska counties
moderate county distress — 0 Nebraska counties
moderate-low county distress — 3 Nebraska counties
low-moderate county distress — 12 Nebraska counties
low county distress — 14 Nebraska counties
very low county distress — 23 Nebraska counties
exceptionally low county distress — 41 Nebraska counties
Urban Institute data: 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. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it.