Howard County, Nebraska

County Distress Index: Normal · 35.9 | 6,527 people · 51st most distressed in Nebraska

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Howard County, NE falls within the normal range for household financial distress at 35.9 — 2595th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Employment & Wages, where employment and wage conditions show moderate stress. Within Nebraska, it ranks 51st of 93 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Howard County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 48.6 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 48.6
Unemployment Rate 5
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 76
Business Formation Rate 65
Community Vulnerability 37.1
Uninsured Rate 40
Disability Rate 34
Debt & Delinquency 35.1
Debt in Collections 12
Medical Debt 27
Student Loan Delinquency 28
Auto Loan Delinquency 64
Credit Card Delinquency 47
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 32
Housing Cost Burden 33.0
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 16
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 19
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 57
Homeownership Rate 52
Rent-to-Income Ratio 22
Income & Poverty 25.4
Poverty Rate 21
Income vs. State Median 37
Child Poverty Rate 18

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Howard County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Howard County
Howard County, NE 35.9 Normal
Hall County, NE 51.0 Elevated +15.1
Sherman County, NE 41.6 Normal +5.8
Buffalo County, NE 34.1 Healthy -1.8
Merrick County, NE 33.5 Healthy -2.4
Nance County, NE 33.4 Healthy -2.4
Greeley County, NE 29.9 Healthy -6.0

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Howard County
Madison County, MT 35.8 Normal -0.1
Grant County, KS 35.8 Normal -0.1
Gilliam County, OR 35.8 Normal -0.1
Carson County, TX 35.7 Normal -0.1
Wichita County, KS 36.1 Normal +0.2

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