About one in nine people with a credit file in Pawnee County, Nebraska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Pawnee County, 11.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pawnee County's score
In Pawnee County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 61.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 28.3. About one in eight renters (12.5%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 79% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pawnee 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.
Even so, Pawnee County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (238.9, 2025) and people without health insurance (13.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 61.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.9% · 202447th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.2% · 202456th percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance13.0% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,600 · 202462nd percentile
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- 45.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.6% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people238.9 · 202583rd percentile
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- 40.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202521st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.2% · second quarter of 202653rd percentile
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- 33.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202616th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.8% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
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- 28.3 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 rent12.5% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202736th 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 Pawnee 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 Pawnee County, 28.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pawnee County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pawnee County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 26.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Pawnee County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pawnee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.4% in 2014 to 7.6% in 2015.
The share of households in Pawnee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 5.1% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pawnee County, Nebraska.
How Pawnee County has changed
Pawnee County's population had its largest drop, from 3,692 in 1984 to 3,370 in 1989.
Pawnee County's population fell 45% from 1969 to 2024, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2009 to 2014, reaching 2,699. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pawnee County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Pawnee County rose most sharply after its 1995 low, from 570 in 1995 to 748 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Pawnee County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 894 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pawnee County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.7% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.3% | 2024 12.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,258 | 2024 $62,600 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Pawnee County's history
1881
On August 9, 1881, two-thirds of downtown Pawnee City was destroyed by a fire. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 11,770. The 2020 Census counted 2,544, 22% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pawnee County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pawnee County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Pawnee County, in Nebraska and Kansas, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pawnee County ranks 3rd of the seven; Marshall County is highest, at 29.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson County, NE | 48 | 13.7% | 24.7% |
| Pawnee County, NE | 36 | 12.9% | 26.5% |
| Gage County, NE | 22 | 10.7% | 22.3% |
| Marshall County, KS | 22 | 11.7% | 29.3% |
| Nemaha County, NE | 18 | 11.7% | 24.5% |
| Richardson County, NE | 18 | 11.4% | 27.4% |
| Nemaha County, KS | 0 | 8.6% | 18.0% |
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 Pawnee County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Pawnee County's poverty rate was 12.9% in 2024, 18th 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, Pawnee County ranks 7th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pawnee 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 Pawnee 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 Pawnee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.