About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Dawes County, Nebraska, have a job
In Dawes County, 9.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dawes County's score
In Dawes County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 80.0. Jobs are the lowest part, at 9.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dawes 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.
Even so, Dawes County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (33.7%, 2020 to 2024) and median household income ($58,219, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.0 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 rent33.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th percentile
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- 56.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.9% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.3% · 202440th percentile
- People with a disability14.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- People without health insurance9.6% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,219 · 202475th percentile
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- 42.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.5% · second quarter of 202631st percentile
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- 10.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.5% · August 202516th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people24.6 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 9.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working9.0% · 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 Dawes 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 Dawes County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dawes County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dawes County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Dawes County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dawes County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.1% in 2012 to 5.3% in 2013.
The share of households in Dawes County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2019, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 4.6% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dawes County, Nebraska.
How Dawes County has changed
Dawes County's population fell 18% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2014 to 2019, reaching 8,361. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dawes County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Dawes County had its largest drop, from 3,350 in 2015 to 2,936 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Dawes County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 3,475 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dawes County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.7% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.9% | 2024 15.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,749 | 2024 $58,219 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Dawes County's history
1885
Created February 19, 1885. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 11,493. The 2020 Census counted 8,199, 71% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1991
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dawes County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dawes County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Dawes County, in Nebraska and South Dakota, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dawes County ranks 4th of the six; Oglala Lakota County is highest, at 49.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | 84 | 35.8% | 49.2% |
| Fall River County, SD | 36 | 11.7% | 36.3% |
| Box Butte County, NE | 33 | 10.8% | 29.4% |
| Dawes County, NE | 32 | 15.9% | 27.0% |
| Sheridan County, NE | 21 | 14.1% | 24.7% |
| Sioux County, NE | 13 | 14.9% | 12.1% |
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 Dawes County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Dawes County's poverty rate was 15.9% in 2024, 4th 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, Dawes County ranks 12th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dawes 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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High Plains Community Development Corporation
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Dawes County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.