About one in 19 people with a credit file in Greeley County, Nebraska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Greeley County, 5.4% 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 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Greeley County's score
In Greeley County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 34.5. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 18.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Greeley 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.
Greeley 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.
- 34.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.7% · 202428th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.4% · 202415th percentile
- People with a disability17.5% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,393 · 202447th percentile
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- 30.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202615th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.0% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
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- 19.4 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 rent11.4% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.1% · fiscal year 202722nd 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 score24.0% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
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- 18.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector5.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people90.1 · 202531st 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 Greeley 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 Greeley County, 25.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Greeley County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Greeley County had its largest drop, from 25.9% in 2009 to 17.7% in 2014.
In Greeley County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 21.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Greeley County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Greeley County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 3.2% in 2020 to 5.3% in 2021.
The share of households in Greeley County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2019, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 3.0% 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, Greeley County, Nebraska.
How Greeley County has changed
Greeley County's population had its largest drop, from 3,614 in 1979 to 3,299 in 1984.
Greeley County's population fell by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 2,197, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2019 to 2024, reaching 2,197. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Greeley County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Greeley County fell 5% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 691 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Greeley County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.9% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.8% | 2024 10.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,460 | 2024 $67,393 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Greeley County's history
1871
1871 (created) 1872 (organized). Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 8,685. The 2020 Census counted 2,188, 25% of the peak. Census Bureau
2004
A thunderstorm in July 2004 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
Hail in April 2012 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in March 2019 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Greeley County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Greeley County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Greeley County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Greeley County ranks 6th of the seven; Sherman County is highest, at 27.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherman County, NE | 11 | 11.6% | 27.2% |
| Greeley County, NE | 9 | 10.7% | 21.3% |
| Valley County, NE | 9 | 10.8% | 22.7% |
| Wheeler County, NE | 6 | 11.4% | 19.2% |
| Howard County, NE | 6 | 9.5% | 22.2% |
| Nance County, NE | 4 | 10.9% | 27.2% |
| Boone County, NE | 0 | 9.3% | 21.7% |
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 Greeley County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Greeley County's poverty rate was 10.7% in 2024, 54th 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, Greeley County ranks 54th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Greeley 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 Greeley 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 Greeley County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.