In Dakota County, Nebraska, benefit checks make up only 16 cents of every dollar of income
In Dakota County, 16.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dakota County's score
In Dakota County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 48.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 24.8. About one in six adults aged 25 to 54 (16.3%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 76% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dakota 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.
Dakota 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.
- 48.7 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent20.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.1% · fiscal year 202732nd percentile
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- 48.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.4% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.7% · second quarter of 202655th percentile
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- 48.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.5% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people117.5 · 202545th percentile
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- 33.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.2% · 202432nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.0% · 202433rd percentile
- People with a disability12.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- People without health insurance8.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,195 · 202428th percentile
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- 24.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202626th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.3% · 2020 to 202423rd 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 Dakota 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 Dakota County, 12.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dakota County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Dakota County had its largest rise, from 16.3% in 2004 to 19.2% in 2009.
In Dakota County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 16.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Dakota County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dakota County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.9% in 2018 to 10.7% in 2019.
The share of households in Dakota County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 8.3% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dakota County, Nebraska.
How Dakota County has changed
Dakota County's population had its largest rise, from 14,541 in 1974 to 16,374 in 1979.
Dakota County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21,335
High on the chart: 21,465 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dakota County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dakota County rose by about a fifth to 13,970, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 13,970 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dakota County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.4% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.1% | 2024 11.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,445 | 2024 $75,195 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Dakota County's history
1775
By 1775, Omaha people had migrated west of Missouri River and established major settlement Ton-wa-tonga (the Big Village) with some 1,100 residents. Wikipedia
1855
Formed by European-American settlers in 1855. Wikipedia
1986
A tornado in July 1986 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A thunderstorm in July 1996 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in August 2001 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in March 2019 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 21,582, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dakota County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dakota County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Dakota County, in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dakota County ranks 4th of the five; Thurston County is highest, at 23.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston County, NE | 45 | 16.9% | 23.2% |
| Woodbury County, IA | 39 | 13.6% | 23.0% |
| Dakota County, NE | 34 | 11.2% | 16.2% |
| Dixon County, NE | 2 | 8.9% | 19.9% |
| Union County, SD | 1 | 5.8% | 7.7% |
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 Dakota County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Dakota County's poverty rate was 11.2% in 2024, 41st 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, Dakota County ranks 8th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dakota 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 Dakota 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 Dakota County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.