Unemployment in Richardson County, Nebraska, is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties
In Richardson County, 2.7% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Richardson County's score
In Richardson County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 48.1. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 17.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Richardson 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.
Richardson 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.
- 48.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.0% · August 202522nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people195.1 · 202573rd percentile
-
- 42.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.4% · 202434th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.8% · 202426th percentile
- People with a disability17.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance6.2% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,056 · 202454th percentile
-
- 31.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.1% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.3% · second quarter of 202650th percentile
-
- 19.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.6% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
-
- 17.6 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 rent7.3% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.7% · fiscal year 202728th percentile
-
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 Richardson 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 Richardson County, 24.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Richardson County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Richardson County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Richardson County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Richardson County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2023 low, from 9.0% in 2022 to 6.3% in 2023.
The share of households in Richardson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.3% 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, Richardson County, Nebraska.
How Richardson County has changed
Richardson County's population had its largest drop, from 10,900 in 1984 to 9,955 in 1989.
Richardson County's population fell 38% from 1969 to 2024, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1989 to 1994, reaching 9,818. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Richardson County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Richardson County fell 13% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 2,856 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Richardson County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.0% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.4% | 2024 11.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,994 | 2024 $65,056 |
The table uses 2.8% for 2025; the score uses 2.7% 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 Richardson County's history
1854
1854 (founded) 1855 (re-authorized). Wikipedia
1855
Created May 30, 1854 and reorganized in 1855 by first territorial legislature. Wikipedia
1879
Irving, Kansas Tornado, F4 scale, 18 killed, 60 injured. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 19,826. The 2020 Census counted 7,871, 40% of the peak. Census Bureau
2024
A thunderstorm in October 2024 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1967
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Richardson County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Richardson County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Richardson County, in Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Richardson County ranks 2nd of the seven; Brown County is highest, at 27.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pawnee County, NE | 36 | 12.9% | 26.5% |
| Doniphan County, KS | 30 | 10.6% | 25.2% |
| Brown County, KS | 29 | 13.1% | 27.7% |
| Holt County, MO | 22 | 12.7% | 24.0% |
| 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 Richardson County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Richardson County's poverty rate was 11.4% in 2024, 36th 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, Richardson County ranks 32nd of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Richardson 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.
-
Legal Aid of Nebraska
Legal aid
-
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 Richardson 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 Richardson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.