In Arthur County, Nebraska, benefit checks make up only 16 cents of every dollar of income
In Arthur County, 15.8% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Arthur County's score
In Arthur County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 39.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 14.7. About one in 18 renters (5.6%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Arthur 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.
Arthur 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.
- 39.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.8% · 202438th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.5% · 202430th percentile
- People with a disability14.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- People without health insurance6.8% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,597 · 202450th percentile
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- 30.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202516th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202544th percentile
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- 24.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202529th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202521st percentile
- People with a subprime credit scorenot published for this county; scored at the state median21st percentile
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- 23.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202617th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.5% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
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- 14.7 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 rent5.6% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.3% · fiscal year 202724th percentile
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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 Arthur 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 Arthur County, 22.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Arthur County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Arthur County had its largest drop, from 25.4% in 2009 to 13.6% in 2014.
In Arthur County, benefit checks brought in more than pay in one of the bars shown, but pay leads in 2024
In Arthur County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Arthur County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen to 5.9%
Low on the chart: 2.6% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Arthur County, Nebraska.
How Arthur County has changed
Arthur County's population fell by about a third to 423, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1979 and 1984
Biggest drop: 1979 to 1984, reaching 467. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Arthur County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Arthur County rose most sharply after its 1995 low, from 79 in 1995 to 108 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Arthur County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 108 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Arthur County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.7% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.5% | 2024 11.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,969 | 2024 $66,597 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Arthur County's history
1887
March 31, 1887 (created) August 16, 1913 (organized). Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 1,412. The 2020 Census counted 434, 31% of the peak. Census Bureau
1930
Great Depression caused population decline from 1,344 in 1930 to 513 by 1980. Wikipedia
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Since 1967
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Arthur County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Arthur County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Arthur County, four score higher. Of the group, Arthur County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Garden County gets the largest, at 35.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden County, NE | 37 | 16.9% | 35.4% |
| Hooker County, NE | 18 | 7.8% | 33.3% |
| Keith County, NE | 18 | 10.6% | 25.8% |
| McPherson County, NE | 16 | 11.7% | 20.4% |
| Arthur County, NE | 12 | 11.8% | 15.8% |
| Grant County, NE | 7 | 11.2% | 25.6% |
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 Arthur County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Arthur County's poverty rate was 11.8% in 2024, 27th highest of 93 in Nebraska (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Garden County, at 16.9%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Arthur County ranks 48th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Arthur 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.
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Legal Aid of Nebraska
Legal aid
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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 Arthur 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 Arthur County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.