About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Loup County, Nebraska, have a job
In Loup County, 11.3% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Loup County's score
In Loup County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 53.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 14.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Loup 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.
Even so, Loup County is worse off than most counties on children below the poverty line (24.1%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 53.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.9% · 202464th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.1% · 202479th percentile
- People with a disability11.4% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- People without health insurance9.5% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,693 · 202450th percentile
-
- 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
-
- 22.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202640th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.3% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
-
- 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 score20.8% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
-
- 14.6 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 rent3.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.2% · fiscal year 202724th percentile
-
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 Loup 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 Loup County, 24.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Loup County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Loup County had its largest drop, from 32.1% in 2009 to 13.4% in 2014.
In Loup County, benefit checks brought in more than pay in three of the bars shown, but pay leads in 2024
In Loup County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.2%; 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 Loup County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 0.0% 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, Loup County, Nebraska.
How Loup County has changed
Loup County's population had its largest drop, from 831 in 1984 to 704 in 1989.
Loup County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 582
High on the chart: 903 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Loup County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Loup County tripled to 121, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 89. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Loup County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.3% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.3% | 2024 14.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,014 | 2024 $66,693 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Loup County's history
1883
Founded 1883. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 2,188. The 2020 Census counted 607, 28% of the peak. Census Bureau
1979
A tornado in July 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 2005
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Loup County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Loup County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Loup County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Loup County ranks 6th of the seven; Garfield County is highest, at 31.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine County, NE | 22 | 14.5% | 18.5% |
| Brown County, NE | 21 | 11.3% | 22.7% |
| Loup County, NE | 14 | 14.9% | 20.2% |
| Custer County, NE | 10 | 11.5% | 24.2% |
| Garfield County, NE | 8 | 11.8% | 31.1% |
| Rock County, NE | 7 | 13.1% | 20.9% |
| Holt County, NE | 1 | 11.1% | 24.0% |
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 Loup County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Loup County's poverty rate was 14.9% in 2024, 6th 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, Loup County ranks 44th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Loup 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.
-
Legal Aid of Nebraska
Legal aid
-
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 Loup County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.