About one in 13 people in Hooker County, Nebraska, lives below the poverty line
In Hooker County, 7.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hooker County's score
In Hooker County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 61.8. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 15.3. Almost no renters (0.0%, 2020 to 2024) pay half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hooker 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.
Hooker 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.
- 61.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202660th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.9% · 2020 to 202463rd 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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- 29.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.8% · 20247th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.7% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability12.7% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- People without health insurance9.5% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,174 · 202451st percentile
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- 21.1 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 score29.7% · second quarter of 202612th percentile
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- 15.3 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 income18.4% · fiscal year 202725th 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 Hooker 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 Hooker County, 21.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hooker County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hooker County, benefit checks brought in more than pay in one of the bars shown, but pay leads in 2024
In Hooker County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.3%; 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 Hooker County getting SNAP food aid fell by more than half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 0.3%, with its low point on the chart in 2019
Low on the chart: 0.0% 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, Hooker County, Nebraska.
How Hooker County has changed
Hooker County's population fell 29% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 1,027 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hooker County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Hooker County had its largest drop in the last span, from 332 in 2020 to 262 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Hooker County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 337 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hooker County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.6% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.1% | 2024 7.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,145 | 2024 $66,174 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Hooker County's history
1889
Created March 29, 1889 with construction of Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad line. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 1,378. The 2020 Census counted 711, 52% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 2001
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hooker County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hooker County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Hooker County, one scores higher. Of the group, Hooker County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (33.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas County, NE | 24 | 13.4% | 23.1% |
| Hooker County, NE | 18 | 7.8% | 33.3% |
| McPherson County, NE | 16 | 11.7% | 20.4% |
| 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 Hooker County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Hooker County's poverty rate was 7.8% in 2024, 85th 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, Hooker County ranks 33rd of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hooker 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 Hooker 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 Hooker County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.