Unemployment in Lancaster County, Nebraska, is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties
In Lancaster County, 2.7% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lancaster County's score
In Lancaster County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 52.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 9.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lancaster 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.
Lancaster 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.
- 52.5 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent21.4% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202735th percentile
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- 40.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.6% · August 202524th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people139.9 · 202556th percentile
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- 26.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.8% · 202438th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.8% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability12.4% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance5.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,062 · 202427th percentile
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- 22.0 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 behind3.8% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.6% · second quarter of 202614th percentile
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- 9.4 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 20268th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.6% · 2020 to 202410th 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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster County, 15.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lancaster County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lancaster County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 15.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Lancaster County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lancaster County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.2% in 2012 to 9.0% in 2013.
The share of households in Lancaster County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 8.4%
Low on the chart: 6.6% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lancaster County, Nebraska.
How Lancaster County has changed
Lancaster County's population had its largest rise, from 283,097 in 2009 to 303,787 in 2014.
Lancaster County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 332,857, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 188,632. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lancaster County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lancaster County rose by about half to 176,943, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 146,025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lancaster County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.2% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.1% | 2024 11.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,923 | 2024 $76,062 |
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 Lancaster County's history
1855
March 16, 1855 (created) October 10, 1859 (organized). Wikipedia
1957
A tornado in April 1957 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
Lincoln designated refugee-friendly city by U.S. State Department in 1970s, received Vietnamese, Karen, Sudanese, Yazidi, and Iraqi resettlement. Wikipedia
2004
A tornado in May 2004 did $100 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flood in May 2015 did $100 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 322,608, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A thunderstorm in August 2025 did $3.41 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lancaster County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lancaster County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Lancaster County, one scores higher. Of the group, Lancaster County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Otoe County gets the largest, at 22.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gage County, NE | 22 | 10.7% | 22.3% |
| Lancaster County, NE | 17 | 11.8% | 15.6% |
| Butler County, NE | 15 | 9.5% | 18.5% |
| Saline County, NE | 8 | 7.6% | 21.1% |
| Otoe County, NE | 4 | 8.0% | 22.4% |
| Cass County, NE | 4 | 6.2% | 18.8% |
| Seward County, NE | 3 | 7.9% | 18.1% |
| Saunders County, NE | 1 | 6.0% | 17.2% |
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 Lancaster County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Lancaster County's poverty rate was 11.8% in 2024, 27th 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, Lancaster County ranks 36th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lancaster 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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.