Unemployment in Garden County, Nebraska, is lower than in 80% of U.S. counties
In Garden County, 3.2% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 80% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Garden County's score
In Garden County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 75.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 14.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 55.7 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Garden 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, Garden County is worse off than most counties on median household income ($50,767, 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (24.0%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.9% · 202475th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.2% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability18.9% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance8.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,767 · 202490th percentile
-
- 46.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202621st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.4% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
-
- 43.9 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 rent8.7% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.0% · fiscal year 202778th percentile
-
- 32.7 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 score39.3% · second quarter of 202646th percentile
-
- 14.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202516th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people55.7 · 202511th percentile
-
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 Garden 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 Garden County, 29.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Garden County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Garden County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 38% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Garden County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Garden County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.6% in 2010 to 9.8% in 2011.
The share of households in Garden County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 5.9% 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, Garden County, Nebraska.
How Garden County has changed
Garden County's population had its largest drop, from 2,245 in 2004 to 2,010 in 2009.
Garden County's population fell 39% from 1969 to 2024, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1999 to 2004, reaching 2,245. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Garden County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Garden County fell 38% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 783 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Garden County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.8% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.3% | 2024 16.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,005 | 2024 $50,767 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Garden County's history
1909
Formed in 1909 by popular vote when voters in the general election of November 2, 1909, approved making the northern part of Deuel County into its own county. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 5,099. The 2020 Census counted 1,874, 37% of the peak. Census Bureau
1938
F5 tornado struck near Oshkosh on April 26, 1938, disintegrating a school and killing 3 children, destroying two farms. Wikipedia
2018
A thunderstorm in May 2018 did $3,500,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
Lightning in June 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 2001
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Garden County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Garden County beside its neighbors
Garden County scores higher than all seven counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Garden County ranks 2nd of the eight; Deuel County is highest, at 36.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden County, NE | 37 | 16.9% | 35.4% |
| Deuel County, NE | 21 | 11.9% | 36.0% |
| Cheyenne County, NE | 21 | 11.8% | 28.3% |
| Sheridan County, NE | 21 | 14.1% | 24.7% |
| Morrill County, NE | 19 | 13.4% | 19.9% |
| Keith County, NE | 18 | 10.6% | 25.8% |
| Arthur County, NE | 12 | 11.8% | 15.8% |
| Grant County, NE | 7 | 11.2% | 25.6% |
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 Garden County the poorest county in Nebraska?
Yes, Garden County's poverty rate was 16.9% in 2024, the highest of 93 counties in Nebraska (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Garden County ranks 6th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Garden 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.
-
Legal Aid of Nebraska
Legal aid
-
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 Garden 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 Garden County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.