About one in 11 people with a credit file in Nuckolls County, Nebraska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Nuckolls County, 9.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Nuckolls County's score
In Nuckolls County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 40.0. Jobs are the lowest part, at 7.8. Unemployment averaged 2.4%, 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 Nuckolls 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.
Nuckolls 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.
- 40.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.7% · 202428th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.1% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance9.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,032 · 202449th percentile
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- 23.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.3% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.8% · second quarter of 202625th percentile
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- 22.6 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 rent12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.2% · fiscal year 202723rd percentile
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- 20.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.1% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people97.7 · 202534th percentile
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- 7.8 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 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 Nuckolls 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 Nuckolls County, 29.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Nuckolls County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Nuckolls County fell most sharply after its 2009 high, from 26.6% in 2009 to 22.3% in 2014.
In Nuckolls County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Nuckolls County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Nuckolls County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.4% in 2010 to 9.0% in 2011.
The share of households in Nuckolls County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 4.2% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Nuckolls County, Nebraska.
How Nuckolls County has changed
Nuckolls County's population had its largest drop, from 6,623 in 1984 to 5,933 in 1989.
Nuckolls County's population fell by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 4,094, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2019 to 2024, reaching 4,094. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Nuckolls County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Nuckolls County had its largest drop, from 1,663 in 2000 to 1,511 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Nuckolls County fell 5% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 1,427 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Nuckolls County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.2% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.8% | 2024 10.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,650 | 2024 $67,032 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Nuckolls County's history
1860
1860 (founded) 1871 (organized). Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 13,236. The 2020 Census counted 4,095, 31% of the peak. Census Bureau
1986
A tornado in September 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in March 1990 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A thunderstorm in June 2017 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A thunderstorm in August 2025 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Nuckolls County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Nuckolls County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Nuckolls County, in Nebraska and Kansas, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Nuckolls County ranks 5th of the seven; Republic County is highest, at 29.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jewell County, KS | 28 | 12.3% | 28.6% |
| Webster County, NE | 21 | 10.8% | 26.0% |
| Republic County, KS | 13 | 10.7% | 29.6% |
| Thayer County, NE | 8 | 10.8% | 26.1% |
| Nuckolls County, NE | 7 | 10.7% | 25.3% |
| Fillmore County, NE | 7 | 8.5% | 21.6% |
| Clay County, NE | 0 | 9.6% | 21.5% |
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 Nuckolls County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Nuckolls County's poverty rate was 10.7% in 2024, 54th 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, Nuckolls County ranks 65th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Nuckolls 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 Nuckolls 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 Nuckolls County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.