About one in 13 people in Otoe County, Nebraska, lives below the poverty line
In Otoe County, 8.0% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Otoe County's score
In Otoe County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 32.9. Jobs are the lowest part, at 9.3. Unemployment averaged 2.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Otoe 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.
Otoe 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.
- 32.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.6% · August 202524th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people110.2 · 202541st percentile
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- 26.0 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 behind3.8% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.2% · second quarter of 202619th percentile
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- 13.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.0% · 20248th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.6% · 20248th percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance3.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,191 · 202418th percentile
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- 12.8 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 rent11.3% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.4% · fiscal year 20279th percentile
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- 9.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20268th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.4% · 2020 to 20249th 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 Otoe 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 Otoe County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Otoe County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Otoe County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Otoe County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Otoe County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.4% in 2021 to 5.9% in 2022.
The share of households in Otoe County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 5.1% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Otoe County, Nebraska.
How Otoe County has changed
Otoe County's population rose 6% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1994 and 1999
High on the chart: 16,591 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Otoe County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Otoe County had its largest rise, from 4,852 in 1990 to 5,370 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Otoe County rose 29% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 6,378 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Otoe County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.6% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.6% | 2024 8.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,954 | 2024 $81,191 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Otoe County's history
1854
Formed in 1854. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 22,288. The 2020 Census counted 15,912, 71% of the peak. Census Bureau
1991
A tornado in April 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A tornado in May 2004 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Otoe County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Otoe County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Otoe County, in Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Otoe County ranks 5th of the seven; Fremont County is highest, at 29.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson County, NE | 48 | 13.7% | 24.7% |
| Atchison County, MO | 20 | 12.1% | 28.0% |
| Nemaha County, NE | 18 | 11.7% | 24.5% |
| Lancaster County, NE | 17 | 11.8% | 15.6% |
| Fremont County, IA | 10 | 10.2% | 29.7% |
| Otoe County, NE | 4 | 8.0% | 22.4% |
| Cass County, NE | 4 | 6.2% | 18.8% |
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 Otoe County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Otoe County's poverty rate was 8.0% in 2024, 82nd 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, Otoe County ranks 77th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Otoe 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 Otoe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.