About one in 10 people with a credit file in Dixon County, Nebraska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Dixon County, 9.6% 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 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dixon County's score
In Dixon County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 27.7. Jobs are the lowest part, at 6.7. Unemployment averaged 2.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dixon 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.
Dixon 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.
- 27.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.9% · 202414th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.5% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability13.4% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- People without health insurance9.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,265 · 202427th percentile
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- 22.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people109.3 · 202540th percentile
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- 15.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.6% · second quarter of 20269th percentile
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- 7.4 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 rent7.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.0% · fiscal year 20277th percentile
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- 6.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20266th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.4% · 2020 to 20247th 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 Dixon 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 Dixon County, 22.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dixon County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dixon County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 19.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Dixon County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dixon County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.2% in 2018 to 4.8% in 2019.
The share of households in Dixon County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 3.9% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dixon County, Nebraska.
How Dixon County has changed
Dixon County's population fell by about a quarter to 5,526, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 6,219. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dixon County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dixon County fell 10% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 1,886 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dixon County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.1% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 8.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,646 | 2024 $76,265 |
The table uses 2.7% for 2025; the score uses 2.6% 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 Dixon County's history
1856
1856 (authorized) 1858 (organized). Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 11,815. The 2020 Census counted 5,606, 47% of the peak. Census Bureau
1980
A tornado in May 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1986
A tornado in July 1986 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in May 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in March 2019 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dixon County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dixon County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Dixon County, in Nebraska and South Dakota, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dixon County ranks 3rd of the seven; Thurston County is highest, at 23.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston County, NE | 45 | 16.9% | 23.2% |
| Dakota County, NE | 34 | 11.2% | 16.2% |
| Clay County, SD | 23 | 19.3% | 19.6% |
| Wayne County, NE | 7 | 12.5% | 18.7% |
| Dixon County, NE | 2 | 8.9% | 19.9% |
| Union County, SD | 1 | 5.8% | 7.7% |
| Cedar County, NE | 0 | 8.7% | 20.0% |
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 Dixon County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Dixon County's poverty rate was 8.9% in 2024, 73rd 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, Dixon County ranks 84th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dixon 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 Dixon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.