Dawson County, Nebraska

County Distress Index: Normal · 39.0 | 24,085 people · 40th most distressed in Nebraska

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Dawson County, NE falls within the normal range for household financial distress at 39.0 — 2410th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Community Vulnerability, where health coverage gaps and disability rates are moderately elevated. Within Nebraska, it ranks 40th of 93 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Dawson County's primary driver is Community Vulnerability at 47.0 — above the national median.

Community Vulnerability Primary driver 47.0
Uninsured Rate 74
Disability Rate 20
Housing Cost Burden 46.8
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 29
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 55
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 47
Homeownership Rate 85
Rent-to-Income Ratio 17
Employment & Wages 39.0
Unemployment Rate 23
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 36
Business Formation Rate 58
Income & Poverty 31.4
Poverty Rate 24
Income vs. State Median 41
Child Poverty Rate 29
Debt & Delinquency 31.1
Debt in Collections 32
Medical Debt 42
Student Loan Delinquency 6
Auto Loan Delinquency 48
Credit Card Delinquency 40
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 18

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Dawson County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Dawson County
Dawson County, NE 39.0 Normal
Lincoln County, NE 47.6 Normal +8.6
Frontier County, NE 44.5 Normal +5.5
Buffalo County, NE 34.1 Healthy -5.0
Custer County, NE 33.3 Healthy -5.8
Gosper County, NE 28.4 Healthy -10.7
Phelps County, NE 24.6 Healthy -14.4

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Dawson County
Carbon County, WY 39.0 Normal 0.0
Daviess County, IN 39.0 Normal +0.0
Fayette County, TX 39.0 Normal +0.0
Shelby County, OH 39.0 Normal -0.1
Cooper County, MO 39.1 Normal +0.1

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