About one in seven people with a credit file in Nemaha County, Nebraska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Nemaha County, 15.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Nemaha County's score
In Nemaha County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 47.0. Jobs are the lowest part, at 23.7. About one in six adults aged 25 to 54 (16.2%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 77% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Nemaha 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.
Nemaha 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.
- 47.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.7% · 202437th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.6% · 202420th percentile
- People with a disability17.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance10.2% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,996 · 202449th percentile
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- 32.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.3% · August 202529th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.3% · August 202520th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.5% · second quarter of 202647th percentile
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- 28.1 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 rent15.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.2% · fiscal year 202723rd percentile
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- 27.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.1% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people98.9 · 202535th percentile
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- 23.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202624th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.2% · 2020 to 202422nd 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 Nemaha 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 Nemaha County, 20.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Nemaha County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Nemaha County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 24.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Nemaha County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Nemaha County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.4% in 2021 to 10.5% in 2022.
The share of households in Nemaha County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2019, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 5.8% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Nemaha County, Nebraska.
How Nemaha County has changed
Nemaha County's population had its largest drop, from 8,549 in 1984 to 8,030 in 1989.
Nemaha County's population fell by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 7,046
High on the chart: 8,832 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Nemaha County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Nemaha County rose most sharply from its first year (2,776 in 1990) to 3,240 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Nemaha County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 3,638 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Nemaha County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 11.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,392 | 2024 $66,996 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Nemaha County's history
1830
The county forms the core of the Nemaha Half-Breed Reservation formed in the Fourth Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1830 as land for the offspring of traders and Native Americans. Wikipedia
1853
Saint Deroin was founded in 1853 by members of the reservation as a trading post on the Missouri River. Wikipedia
1855
Formally founded in 1855 with Brownville as its county seat. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 14,952. The 2020 Census counted 7,074, 47% of the peak. Census Bureau
1963
A tornado in April 1963 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A thunderstorm in August 2025 did $1.22 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Nemaha County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Nemaha County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Nemaha County, in Nebraska and Missouri, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Nemaha County ranks 5th of the seven; Atchison County is highest, at 28.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson County, NE | 48 | 13.7% | 24.7% |
| Pawnee County, NE | 36 | 12.9% | 26.5% |
| Holt County, MO | 22 | 12.7% | 24.0% |
| Atchison County, MO | 20 | 12.1% | 28.0% |
| Nemaha County, NE | 18 | 11.7% | 24.5% |
| Richardson County, NE | 18 | 11.4% | 27.4% |
| Otoe County, NE | 4 | 8.0% | 22.4% |
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 Nemaha County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Nemaha County's poverty rate was 11.7% in 2024, 32nd 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, Nemaha County ranks 31st of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Nemaha 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 Nemaha 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 Nemaha County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.