Unemployment in Cuming County, Nebraska, is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties
In Cuming County, 2.1% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cuming County's score
In Cuming County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 26.7. Jobs are the lowest part, at 7.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cuming 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.
Cuming 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.
- 26.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people123.3 · 202548th percentile
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- 23.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.6% · 202412th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.8% · 202412th percentile
- People with a disability10.7% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- People without health insurance8.3% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$74,666 · 202429th percentile
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- 12.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.5% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.0% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.2% · second quarter of 202616th percentile
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- 9.2 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 rent8.7% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.3% · fiscal year 20278th percentile
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- 7.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.3% · 2020 to 20249th 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 Cuming 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 Cuming County, 21.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cuming County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cuming County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 17.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Cuming County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.3%; 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 Cuming County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 2.5%
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 2.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cuming County, Nebraska.
How Cuming County has changed
Cuming County's population fell by about a quarter to 8,952, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 10,263. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cuming County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cuming County rose 14% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 4,072 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cuming County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.1% | 2025 2.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.9% | 2024 8.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,692 | 2024 $74,666 |
The table uses 2.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.1% 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 Cuming County's history
1855
1855 (authorized) 1857 (organized). Wikipedia
1857
Formed in 1855 and organized in 1857. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 14,584. The 2020 Census counted 9,013, 62% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
Railroad service ended spring of 1982 when flooding from Elkhorn River damaged sections of track, Chicago & North Western abandoned line. Wikipedia
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in June 2014 did $1 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cuming County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cuming County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Cuming County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cuming County ranks 5th of the seven; Burt County is highest, at 26.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston County, NE | 45 | 16.9% | 23.2% |
| Dodge County, NE | 27 | 13.1% | 21.9% |
| Stanton County, NE | 20 | 7.8% | 15.7% |
| Colfax County, NE | 13 | 8.4% | 16.8% |
| Burt County, NE | 9 | 10.0% | 26.9% |
| Wayne County, NE | 7 | 12.5% | 18.7% |
| 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 Cuming County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Cuming County's poverty rate was 8.6% in 2024, 77th 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, Cuming County ranks 86th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cuming 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 Cuming 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 Cuming County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.