About 19 in 20 adults aged 25 to 54 in Grant County, Nebraska, have a job
In Grant County, 6.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grant County's score
In Grant County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 44.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 6.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grant 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.
Grant 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.
- 44.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.2% · 202432nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.5% · 202474th percentile
- People with a disability10.4% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance10.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,112 · 202440th percentile
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- 30.4 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 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202544th percentile
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- 22.5 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 score31.0% · second quarter of 202616th percentile
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- 10.6 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 rent0.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.4% · fiscal year 202716th percentile
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- 6.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working6.4% · 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 Grant 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 Grant County, 21.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grant County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Grant County had its largest drop, from 28.5% in 2009 to 13.4% in 2014.
In Grant County, benefit checks brought in more than pay in two of the bars shown, but pay leads in 2024
In Grant County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 25.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Grant County getting SNAP food aid fell by more than half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 2.1%, with its low point on the chart in 2022
Low on the chart: 1.8% 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, Grant County, Nebraska.
How Grant County has changed
Grant County's population had its largest drop, from 949 in 1979 to 861 in 1984.
Grant County's population fell 42% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 1,007 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grant County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Grant County rose by about a quarter to 293, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 293 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grant County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 0.5% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.0% | 2024 11.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,968 | 2024 $70,112 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 2.7% 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 Grant County's history
1887
Created on March 31, 1887. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 1,486. The 2020 Census counted 611, 41% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 2005
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grant County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grant County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Grant County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grant County ranks 3rd of the six; Garden County is highest, at 35.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden County, NE | 37 | 16.9% | 35.4% |
| Sheridan County, NE | 21 | 14.1% | 24.7% |
| Hooker County, NE | 18 | 7.8% | 33.3% |
| Arthur County, NE | 12 | 11.8% | 15.8% |
| Cherry County, NE | 9 | 10.2% | 20.9% |
| 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 Grant County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Grant County's poverty rate was 11.2% in 2024, 41st 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, Grant County ranks 66th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grant 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 Grant County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.