Unemployment in Knox County, Nebraska, is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties
In Knox County, 2.7% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Knox County's score
In Knox County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 48.4. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 24.1 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Knox 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.
Knox 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.
- 48.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.1% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.5% · 202436th percentile
- People with a disability16.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- People without health insurance7.0% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,681 · 202468th percentile
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- 28.8 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 rent11.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202742nd percentile
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- 22.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.8% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.7% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.1% · second quarter of 202633rd percentile
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- 10.7 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 working14.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
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- 5.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.4% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people24.1 · 20255th 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 Knox 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 Knox County, 25.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Knox County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Knox County made its largest gain on the way to its 2019 high, from 20.7% in 2014 to 25.6% in 2019.
In Knox County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 25.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Knox County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Knox County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 6.2% in 2010 to 7.5% in 2011.
The share of households in Knox County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 7.4%
Low on the chart: 6.2% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Knox County, Nebraska.
How Knox County has changed
Knox County's population fell by about a third to 8,306, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 9,737. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Knox County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Knox County had its largest rise, from 2,166 in 1990 to 2,461 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Knox County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,900
High on the chart: 2,950 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Knox County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.5% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.8% | 2024 12.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,879 | 2024 $60,681 |
The table uses 2.9% 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 Knox County's history
1857
Organized by Territorial Legislature in 1857 as L'Eau Qui Court (French for Running Water). Name changed to Knox by statute passed February 21, 1873, effective April 1, 1873. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 19,110. The 2020 Census counted 8,391, 44% of the peak. Census Bureau
1959
A tornado in May 1959 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1985
A tornado in April 1985 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
Hail in June 2000 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in March 2019 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Knox County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Knox County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Knox County, in Nebraska and South Dakota, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Knox County ranks 3rd of the nine; Boyd County is highest, at 30.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boyd County, NE | 31 | 13.1% | 30.8% |
| Charles Mix County, SD | 20 | 20.3% | 25.6% |
| Knox County, NE | 8 | 12.1% | 25.3% |
| Antelope County, NE | 8 | 11.4% | 21.2% |
| Yankton County, SD | 3 | 10.9% | 18.4% |
| Bon Homme County, SD | 2 | 14.2% | 23.7% |
| Pierce County, NE | 1 | 9.0% | 10.9% |
| Holt County, NE | 1 | 11.1% | 24.0% |
| Cedar County, NE | 0 | 8.7% | 20.0% |
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 Knox County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Knox County's poverty rate was 12.1% in 2024, 24th 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, Knox County ranks 62nd of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Knox 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 Knox County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.