Polk County, Nebraska

County Distress Index: Healthy · 23.1 | 5,228 people · 90th most distressed in Nebraska

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Polk County, NE ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 23.1 — 3072nd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Employment & Wages, where the job market is relatively stable with wages that keep pace with costs. Within Nebraska, it ranks 90th of 93 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 5 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Polk County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 44.7 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 44.7
Unemployment Rate 10
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 44
Business Formation Rate 80
Community Vulnerability 27.8
Uninsured Rate 44
Disability Rate 12
Debt & Delinquency 25.2
Debt in Collections 5
Medical Debt 24
Student Loan Delinquency 28
Auto Loan Delinquency 41
Credit Card Delinquency 19
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 34
Housing Cost Burden 8.8
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 5
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 5
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 17
Homeownership Rate 12
Rent-to-Income Ratio 5
Income & Poverty 8.8
Poverty Rate 5
Income vs. State Median 15
Child Poverty Rate 6

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Polk County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Polk County
Polk County, NE 23.1 Healthy
Merrick County, NE 33.5 Healthy +10.4
York County, NE 29.4 Healthy +6.4
Platte County, NE 29.3 Healthy +6.3
Butler County, NE 27.0 Healthy +4.0
Seward County, NE 24.3 Healthy +1.2
Hamilton County, NE 17.5 Healthy -5.6

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Polk County
Fillmore County, NE 23.2 Healthy +0.1
Pierce County, NE 23.3 Healthy +0.3
Cedar County, NE 23.5 Healthy +0.4
Spink County, SD 22.6 Healthy -0.5
Campbell County, SD 22.5 Healthy -0.5

Download Data

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