About one in 10 people with a credit file in Nance County, Nebraska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Nance County, 10.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Nance County's score
In Nance County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 37.2. Jobs are the lowest part, at 6.3. Unemployment averaged 2.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Nance 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.
Nance 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.
- 37.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.9% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.0% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,105 · 202443rd percentile
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- 26.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people122.2 · 202548th percentile
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- 13.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.1% · second quarter of 202629th percentile
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- 12.1 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 rent6.9% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.6% · fiscal year 202718th percentile
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- 6.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.6% · 2020 to 20247th 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 Nance 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 Nance County, 21.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Nance County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Nance County rose most in two steps: 17.5% in 1994 to 21.5% in 1999; 22.9% in 2014 to 26.9% in 2019.
In Nance County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Nance County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Nance County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.4% in 2021 to 6.0% in 2022.
The share of households in Nance County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen to 6.9%
Low on the chart: 4.4% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Nance County, Nebraska.
How Nance County has changed
Nance County's population had its largest drop, from 5,181 in 1969 to 4,896 in 1974.
Nance County's population fell 37% from 1969 to 2024, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1989 to 1994, reaching 4,261. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Nance County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Nance County had its largest drop, from 1,115 in 2015 to 941 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Nance County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 1,115 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Nance County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.8% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.9% | 2024 10.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,861 | 2024 $69,105 |
The table uses 2.4% for 2025; the score uses 2.5% 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 Nance County's history
1876
In the mid-1870s the remainder of the Pawnee Reservation was sold and in 1876 the tribe was relocated to its present-day location in central Oklahoma. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 8,926. The 2020 Census counted 3,380, 38% of the peak. Census Bureau
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 $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in March 2019 did $12 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flash flood in March 2019 did $12 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Nance County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Nance County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Nance County, four score higher. Of the group, Nance County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (27.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platte County, NE | 15 | 8.5% | 18.1% |
| Greeley County, NE | 9 | 10.7% | 21.3% |
| Merrick County, NE | 7 | 9.8% | 22.7% |
| Howard County, NE | 6 | 9.5% | 22.2% |
| Nance County, NE | 4 | 10.9% | 27.2% |
| Boone County, NE | 0 | 9.3% | 21.7% |
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 Nance County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Nance County's poverty rate was 10.9% in 2024, 48th 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, Nance County ranks 76th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Nance 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 Nance County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.