Unemployment in Buffalo County, Nebraska, is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties
In Buffalo County, 2.5% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Buffalo County's score
In Buffalo County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 35.0. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Buffalo 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.
Buffalo 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.
- 35.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.5% · August 202528th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people110.5 · 202541st percentile
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- 29.3 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 rent16.7% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.5% · fiscal year 202717th percentile
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- 21.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.7% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.2% · 20246th percentile
- People with a disability12.4% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance7.0% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,364 · 202428th percentile
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- 18.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.8% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.1% · second quarter of 202616th percentile
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- 5.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20264th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.1% · 2020 to 20246th 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 Buffalo 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 Buffalo County, 16.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Buffalo County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Buffalo County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 15.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Buffalo County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Buffalo County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.0% in 2011 to 8.1% in 2012.
The share of households in Buffalo County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 7.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Buffalo County, Nebraska.
How Buffalo County has changed
Buffalo County's population nearly doubled to 51,156, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 37,145. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Buffalo County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Buffalo County nearly doubled to 28,130, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 19,765. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Buffalo County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.5% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.6% | 2024 8.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,108 | 2024 $75,364 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Buffalo County's history
1848
Fort Kearny established 1848 by US Army to safeguard westward migrants traveling through the region. Wikipedia
1855
March 16, 1855 (created) October 1, 1870 (organized). Wikipedia
1870
Created March 16, 1855 and organized October 1, 1870. Wikipedia
2002
Hail in June 2002 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
Hail in June 2002 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $11 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flash flood in July 2019 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 50,084, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Buffalo County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Buffalo County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Buffalo County, five score higher. Of the group, Buffalo County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Sherman County gets the largest, at 27.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hall County, NE | 38 | 15.1% | 18.6% |
| Dawson County, NE | 26 | 10.1% | 20.8% |
| Adams County, NE | 22 | 11.0% | 20.1% |
| Sherman County, NE | 11 | 11.6% | 27.2% |
| Custer County, NE | 10 | 11.5% | 24.2% |
| Buffalo County, NE | 6 | 8.7% | 15.5% |
| Howard County, NE | 6 | 9.5% | 22.2% |
| Phelps County, NE | 5 | 8.4% | 21.6% |
| Kearney County, NE | 3 | 7.8% | 15.7% |
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 Buffalo County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Buffalo County's poverty rate was 8.7% in 2024, 75th 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, Buffalo County ranks 70th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Buffalo 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 Buffalo 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 Buffalo County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.