About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Burt County, Nebraska, have a job
In Burt County, 14.1% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Burt County's score
In Burt County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 42.1. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 11.4. About one in 12 renters (8.1%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Burt 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.
Burt 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.
- 42.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.9% · August 202514th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people178.4 · 202569th percentile
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- 35.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.3% · 202414th percentile
- People with a disability16.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- People without health insurance7.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,088 · 202438th percentile
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- 16.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.1% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
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- 14.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.4% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.4% · second quarter of 202631st percentile
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- 11.4 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 rent8.1% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.1% · fiscal year 202714th 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 Burt 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 Burt County, 24.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Burt County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Burt County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 26.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Burt County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Burt County getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2020 high, from 8.2% in 2019 to 10.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Burt County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2011, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 6.2% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Burt County, Nebraska.
How Burt County has changed
Burt County's population had its largest drop, from 8,543 in 1984 to 7,871 in 1989.
Burt County's population fell by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 6,727
High on the chart: 9,264 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Burt County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Burt County fell 5% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 1,969 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Burt County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.8% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.0% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,296 | 2024 $71,088 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Burt County's history
1854
Created November 23, 1854. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 13,062. The 2020 Census counted 6,722, 51% of the peak. Census Bureau
1950
A tornado in July 1950 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1977
A tornado in July 1977 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in May 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in March 2011 did $1.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Burt County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Burt County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Burt County, in Nebraska and Iowa, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Burt County ranks 2nd of the seven; Monona County is highest, at 28.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston County, NE | 45 | 16.9% | 23.2% |
| Dodge County, NE | 27 | 13.1% | 21.9% |
| Monona County, IA | 20 | 11.1% | 28.0% |
| Harrison County, IA | 11 | 7.6% | 25.0% |
| Burt County, NE | 9 | 10.0% | 26.9% |
| Washington County, NE | 3 | 6.5% | 16.0% |
| Cuming County, NE | 2 | 8.6% | 17.3% |
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 Burt County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Burt County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 62nd 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, Burt County ranks 56th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Burt 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.
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 Burt County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.