Unemployment in Merrick County, Nebraska, is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties
In Merrick County, 2.4% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Merrick County's score
In Merrick County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 45.9. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Merrick 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.
Merrick 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.
- 45.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.9% · August 202526th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people167.6 · 202565th percentile
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- 28.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.8% · 202420th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.1% · 202418th percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,291 · 202432nd percentile
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- 23.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.1% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.9% · second quarter of 202625th percentile
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- 7.9 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 rent5.8% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.6% · fiscal year 202710th percentile
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- 5.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.2% · 2020 to 20246th 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 Merrick 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 Merrick County, 21.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Merrick County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Merrick County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Merrick County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Merrick County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.8% in 2009 to 9.9% in 2010.
The share of households in Merrick County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 5.6% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Merrick County, Nebraska.
How Merrick County has changed
Merrick County's population fell 8% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 8,909 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Merrick County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Merrick County rose by about a quarter to 2,349, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 2,349. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Merrick County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.8% | 2025 2.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.3% | 2024 9.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,200 | 2024 $73,291 |
The table uses 2.3% for 2025; the score uses 2.4% 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 Merrick County's history
1858
Formed in 1858 and organized in 1864. Wikipedia
1873
Merrick County was bounded on the south by the Platte River and on the north, east, and west by straight lines enclosing 180 square miles of the Pawnee Reservation. In 1873, the state legislature removed these reservation lands from the county, leaving it with a jagged northern border. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 10,763. The 2020 Census counted 7,668, 71% of the peak. Census Bureau
1990
A tornado in March 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in March 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A flash flood in May 2005 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in March 2019 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Merrick County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Merrick County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Merrick County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Merrick County ranks 2nd of the seven; Nance County is highest, at 27.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hall County, NE | 38 | 15.1% | 18.6% |
| Platte County, NE | 15 | 8.5% | 18.1% |
| Merrick County, NE | 7 | 9.8% | 22.7% |
| Howard County, NE | 6 | 9.5% | 22.2% |
| Nance County, NE | 4 | 10.9% | 27.2% |
| Polk County, NE | 2 | 8.0% | 18.0% |
| Hamilton County, NE | 0 | 6.6% | 17.8% |
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 Merrick County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Merrick County's poverty rate was 9.8% in 2024, 63rd 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, Merrick County ranks 68th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Merrick 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 Merrick 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 Merrick County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.