In Box Butte County, Nebraska, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Box Butte County, 17.2% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Box Butte County's score
In Box Butte County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 56.3. Jobs are the lowest part, at 20.0. Unemployment averaged 3.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Box Butte 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.
Even so, Box Butte County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (215.1, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 56.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.9% · August 202534th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people215.1 · 202578th percentile
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- 45.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.7% · second quarter of 202640th percentile
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- 42.2 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 rent21.4% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.2% · fiscal year 202715th percentile
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- 37.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.8% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.7% · 202437th percentile
- People with a disability15.2% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.8% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,664 · 202439th percentile
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- 20.0 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 working16.2% · 2020 to 202422nd 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 Box Butte 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 Box Butte County, 20.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Box Butte County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Box Butte County had its largest rise, from 19.5% in 2014 to 25.5% in 2019.
In Box Butte County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 29.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Box Butte County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Box Butte County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.9% in 2014 to 8.9% in 2015.
The share of households in Box Butte County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 7.1%
Low on the chart: 6.4% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Box Butte County, Nebraska.
How Box Butte County has changed
Box Butte County's population rose most sharply after its 1974 low, from 9,884 in 1974 to 12,871 in 1979.
Box Butte County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 13,964 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Box Butte County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Box Butte County had its largest rise, from 3,962 in 1995 to 4,444 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Box Butte County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 4,444 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Box Butte County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.0% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.9% | 2024 10.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,555 | 2024 $70,664 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Box Butte County's history
1886
Created November 2, 1886, as part of partitioning of the Nebraska Panhandle. Wikipedia
1943
Alliance Army Airfield established in 1942, used as training base through World War II. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 13,696. The 2020 Census counted 10,842, 79% of the peak. Census Bureau
1991
A tornado in June 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in June 2017 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 2001
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Box Butte County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Box Butte County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Box Butte County, one scores higher. Of the group, Box Butte County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (29.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotts Bluff County, NE | 41 | 11.0% | 25.2% |
| Box Butte County, NE | 33 | 10.8% | 29.4% |
| Dawes County, NE | 32 | 15.9% | 27.0% |
| Sheridan County, NE | 21 | 14.1% | 24.7% |
| Morrill County, NE | 19 | 13.4% | 19.9% |
| Sioux County, NE | 13 | 14.9% | 12.1% |
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 Box Butte County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Box Butte County's poverty rate was 10.8% in 2024, 49th 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, Box Butte County ranks 11th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Box Butte 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 Box Butte 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 Box Butte County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.