Unemployment in Fillmore County, Nebraska, is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties
In Fillmore County, 2.3% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Fillmore County's score
In Fillmore County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 44.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Fillmore 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, Fillmore County is worse off than most counties on people with a car or retail loan behind (9.6%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 44.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.0% · August 202524th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.6% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.5% · second quarter of 202617th percentile
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- 31.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.3% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people126.2 · 202550th percentile
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- 22.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.5% · 202411th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.5% · 20247th percentile
- People with a disability16.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- People without health insurance4.1% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,307 · 202426th percentile
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- 7.8 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 rent8.2% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.0% · fiscal year 20277th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.3% · 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 Fillmore 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 Fillmore County, 23.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Fillmore County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Fillmore County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Fillmore County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Fillmore County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.7% in 2018 to 5.0% in 2019.
The share of households in Fillmore 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: 3.8% 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, Fillmore County, Nebraska.
How Fillmore County has changed
Fillmore County's population had its largest drop, from 7,688 in 1984 to 7,198 in 1989.
Fillmore County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 5,512, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2019 to 2024, reaching 5,512. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Fillmore County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Fillmore County rose 6% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 2,378 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Fillmore County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.1% | 2025 2.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.0% | 2024 8.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,734 | 2024 $76,307 |
The table uses 2.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.3% 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 Fillmore County's history
1874
Fillmore County's growth halted in mid-1870s due to Panic of 1873 and grasshopper infestation in late summer 1874. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 15,087. The 2020 Census counted 5,551, 37% of the peak. Census Bureau
1990
A tornado in March 1990 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A thunderstorm in May 2004 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A thunderstorm in May 2013 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in May 2014 did $7.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Fillmore County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Fillmore County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Fillmore County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Fillmore County ranks 3rd of the six; Thayer County is highest, at 26.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| York County, NE | 13 | 9.1% | 21.1% |
| Saline County, NE | 8 | 7.6% | 21.1% |
| Thayer County, NE | 8 | 10.8% | 26.1% |
| Nuckolls County, NE | 7 | 10.7% | 25.3% |
| Fillmore County, NE | 7 | 8.5% | 21.6% |
| Clay County, NE | 0 | 9.6% | 21.5% |
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 Fillmore County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Fillmore County's poverty rate was 8.5% in 2024, 78th 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, Fillmore County ranks 69th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Fillmore 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 Fillmore 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 Fillmore County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.