In Pierce County, Nebraska, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Pierce County, 14.2% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pierce County's score
In Pierce County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 27.9. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.5. Unemployment averaged 2.3%, 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 Pierce 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.
Pierce 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.
- 27.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.0% · August 202514th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people109.6 · 202540th percentile
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- 20.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.4% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.1% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score27.3% · second quarter of 20266th percentile
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- 12.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.0% · 202415th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.5% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability11.1% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- People without health insurance4.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$85,583 · 202413th percentile
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- 7.8 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 rent9.3% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.2% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 5.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.0% · 2020 to 20246th 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 Pierce 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 Pierce County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pierce County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Pierce County had its largest drop, from 17.7% in 2009 to 12.7% in 2014.
In Pierce County, pay from work still brings in about seven times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Pierce County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 10.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pierce County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 6.8% in 2009 to 4.2% in 2010.
The share of households in Pierce County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2013, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 3.6% in 2013. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pierce County, Nebraska.
How Pierce County has changed
Pierce County's population had its largest drop, from 7,914 in 1999 to 7,477 in 2004.
Pierce County's population fell 14% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 8,538 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pierce County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pierce County rose 15% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 2,057 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pierce County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.8% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.4% | 2024 9.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,982 | 2024 $85,583 |
The table uses 2.5% for 2025; the score uses 2.3% 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 Pierce County's history
1859
Formed in 1859. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 11,080. The 2020 Census counted 7,317, 66% of the peak. Census Bureau
1962
A tornado in May 1962 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pierce County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pierce County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Pierce County, four score higher. Of the group, Pierce County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Knox County gets the largest, at 25.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison County, NE | 16 | 12.3% | 19.5% |
| Knox County, NE | 8 | 12.1% | 25.3% |
| Antelope County, NE | 8 | 11.4% | 21.2% |
| Wayne County, NE | 7 | 12.5% | 18.7% |
| Pierce County, NE | 1 | 9.0% | 10.9% |
| Cedar County, NE | 0 | 8.7% | 20.0% |
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 Pierce County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Pierce County's poverty rate was 9.0% in 2024, 71st 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, Pierce County ranks 88th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pierce 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 Pierce 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 Pierce County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.