About one in 12 people with a credit file in Cedar County, Nebraska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Cedar County, 8.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cedar County's score
In Cedar County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 17.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.0. Unemployment averaged 2.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cedar 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.
Cedar 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.
- 17.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.7% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.0% · 20249th percentile
- People with a disability11.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- People without health insurance6.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,048 · 202425th 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 rent13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.8% · fiscal year 20276th percentile
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- 9.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people60.5 · 202514th percentile
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- 6.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.6% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score27.6% · second quarter of 20267th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower 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 Cedar 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 Cedar County, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cedar County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cedar County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 20.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Cedar County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cedar County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.0% in 2018 to 6.1% in 2019.
The share of households in Cedar County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 5.4%
Low on the chart: 3.7% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cedar County, Nebraska.
How Cedar County has changed
Cedar County's population fell by about a third to 8,262, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 11,442. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cedar County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cedar County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,707, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 2,736 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cedar County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.5% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.8% | 2024 8.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,377 | 2024 $77,048 |
The table uses 2.5% for 2025; the score uses 2.3% 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 Cedar County's history
1857
Formed in 1857. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 16,427. The 2020 Census counted 8,380, 51% of the peak. Census Bureau
1962
A tornado in May 1962 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in May 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in June 2003 did $3.7 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in June 2014 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cedar County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cedar County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Cedar County, in Nebraska and South Dakota, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cedar County ranks 2nd of the seven; Knox County is highest, at 25.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County, SD | 23 | 19.3% | 19.6% |
| Knox County, NE | 8 | 12.1% | 25.3% |
| Wayne County, NE | 7 | 12.5% | 18.7% |
| Yankton County, SD | 3 | 10.9% | 18.4% |
| Dixon County, NE | 2 | 8.9% | 19.9% |
| Pierce County, NE | 1 | 9.0% | 10.9% |
| Cedar County, NE | 0 | 8.7% | 20.0% |
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 Cedar County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Cedar 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, Cedar County ranks 93rd of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cedar 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 Cedar County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.