About one in 10 people with a credit file in Deuel County, Nebraska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Deuel County, 9.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Deuel County's score
In Deuel County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 57.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 22.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Deuel 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.
Deuel 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.
- 57.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.9% · 202439th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.2% · 202456th percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance9.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,028 · 202473rd percentile
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- 33.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202529th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202521st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.8% · second quarter of 202648th percentile
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- 27.1 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 rent0.6% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.6% · fiscal year 202749th percentile
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- 27.1 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 working19.2% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 22.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.8% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people106.9 · 202539th 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 Deuel 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 Deuel County, 28.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Deuel County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Deuel County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 36.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Deuel County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 36.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Deuel County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.0% in 2021 to 7.0% in 2022.
The share of households in Deuel County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen to 8.4%
Low on the chart: 4.0% in 2013. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Deuel County, Nebraska.
How Deuel County has changed
Deuel County's population had its largest drop, from 2,796 in 1969 to 2,600 in 1974.
Deuel County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,892
High on the chart: 2,796 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Deuel County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Deuel County had its largest drop, from 582 in 2015 to 512 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Deuel County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 558, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 512 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Deuel County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.7% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.7% | 2024 11.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,429 | 2024 $59,028 |
The table uses 3.1% 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 Deuel County's history
1889
Formed in 1889. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 3,992. The 2020 Census counted 1,838, 46% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 2001
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Deuel County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Deuel County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Deuel County, in Nebraska and Colorado, two score higher. Of the group, Deuel County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (36.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedgwick County, CO | 57 | 14.6% | 35.1% |
| Garden County, NE | 37 | 16.9% | 35.4% |
| Deuel County, NE | 21 | 11.9% | 36.0% |
| Cheyenne County, NE | 21 | 11.8% | 28.3% |
| Keith County, NE | 18 | 10.6% | 25.8% |
| Perkins County, NE | 2 | 9.3% | 18.4% |
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 Deuel County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Deuel County's poverty rate was 11.9% in 2024, 26th 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, Deuel County ranks 24th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Deuel 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.
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 Deuel County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.