Unemployment in Custer County, Nebraska, is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties
In Custer 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 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Custer County's score
In Custer County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 40.8. Jobs are the lowest part, at 11.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Custer 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.
Custer 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.
- 40.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.5% · 202435th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.2% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability14.1% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- People without health insurance7.1% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,524 · 202459th percentile
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- 30.3 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 rent14.1% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.2% · fiscal year 202733rd percentile
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- 29.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.9% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.3% · second quarter of 202613th percentile
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- 14.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.3% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people75.6 · 202522nd percentile
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- 11.3 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 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.3% · 2020 to 202417th 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 Custer 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 Custer County, 22.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Custer County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Custer County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Custer County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Custer County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.5% in 2014 to 7.8% in 2015.
The share of households in Custer County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 7.8%
Low on the chart: 5.6% in 2012. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Custer County, Nebraska.
How Custer County has changed
Custer County's population fell by about a quarter to 10,487, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 12,308. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Custer County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Custer County rose by about a third to 4,544, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 4,440. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Custer County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.5% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.9% | 2024 11.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,178 | 2024 $63,524 |
The table uses 2.4% for 2025; the score uses 2.5% 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 Custer County's history
1877
Officially organized in 1877, settlement commenced earlier. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 26,407. The 2020 Census counted 10,545, 40% of the peak. Census Bureau
1973
A tornado in April 1973 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1979
A tornado in July 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A tornado in October 2000 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A tornado in October 2000 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Custer County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Custer County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Custer County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Custer County ranks 3rd of the 10; Garfield County is highest, at 31.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dawson County, NE | 26 | 10.1% | 20.8% |
| Lincoln County, NE | 24 | 11.0% | 23.0% |
| Blaine County, NE | 22 | 14.5% | 18.5% |
| Loup County, NE | 14 | 14.9% | 20.2% |
| Sherman County, NE | 11 | 11.6% | 27.2% |
| Logan County, NE | 11 | 9.0% | 23.8% |
| Custer County, NE | 10 | 11.5% | 24.2% |
| Valley County, NE | 9 | 10.8% | 22.7% |
| Garfield County, NE | 8 | 11.8% | 31.1% |
| Buffalo County, NE | 6 | 8.7% | 15.5% |
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 Custer County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Custer County's poverty rate was 11.5% in 2024, 35th 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, Custer County ranks 52nd of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Custer 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 Custer 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 Custer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.