About one in 14 people with a credit file in Garfield County, Nebraska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Garfield County, 7.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Garfield County's score
In Garfield County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 35.4. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.6. About one in 11 adults aged 25 to 54 (9.3%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Garfield 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, Garfield County is worse off than most counties on median household income ($57,062, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 35.4 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent10.7% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th percentile
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- 35.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.8% · 202438th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.2% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability13.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- People without health insurance3.6% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,062 · 202477th percentile
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- 24.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector7.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people113.4 · 202542nd percentile
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- 18.7 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 score25.8% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
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- 5.6 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 working9.3% · 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 Garfield 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 Garfield County, 29.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Garfield County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Garfield County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 31.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Garfield County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Garfield County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.0% in 2009 to 7.3% in 2010.
The share of households in Garfield County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 5.0%
Low on the chart: 1.3% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Garfield County, Nebraska.
How Garfield County has changed
Garfield County's population fell 29% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 2,114. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Garfield County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Garfield County had its largest rise, from 708 in 2000 to 762 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Garfield County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 848 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Garfield County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.3% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.5% | 2024 11.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,790 | 2024 $57,062 |
The table uses 3.0% 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 Garfield County's history
1884
Organized in 1884. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 3,496. The 2020 Census counted 1,813, 52% of the peak. Census Bureau
2025
A thunderstorm in June 2025 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1994
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Garfield County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Garfield County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Garfield County, three score higher. Of the group, Garfield County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (31.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loup County, NE | 14 | 14.9% | 20.2% |
| Custer County, NE | 10 | 11.5% | 24.2% |
| Valley County, NE | 9 | 10.8% | 22.7% |
| Garfield County, NE | 8 | 11.8% | 31.1% |
| Wheeler County, NE | 6 | 11.4% | 19.2% |
| Holt County, NE | 1 | 11.1% | 24.0% |
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 Garfield County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Garfield County's poverty rate was 11.8% in 2024, 27th 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, Garfield County ranks 58th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Garfield 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 Garfield 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 Garfield County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.