About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, have a job
In Scotts Bluff County, 15.2% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Scotts Bluff County's score
In Scotts Bluff County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 54.3. Jobs are the lowest part, at 22.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Scotts Bluff 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.
Scotts Bluff 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.
- 54.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.2% · second quarter of 202649th percentile
-
- 51.4 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 rent21.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.0% · fiscal year 202731st percentile
-
- 49.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.9% · August 202541st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people142.9 · 202557th percentile
-
- 47.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.0% · 202430th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.1% · 202439th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance10.2% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,569 · 202456th percentile
-
- 22.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.2% · 2020 to 202416th 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 Scotts Bluff 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 Scotts Bluff County, 20.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Scotts Bluff County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Scotts Bluff County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 25.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Scotts Bluff County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (10.0% in 2009) to 12.1% in 2010.
The share of households in Scotts Bluff County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 11.9%
Low on the chart: 10.0% 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, Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska.
How Scotts Bluff County has changed
Scotts Bluff County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1979 high, from 35,485 in 1974 to 38,108 in 1979.
Scotts Bluff County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 38,108 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Scotts Bluff County fell most sharply after its 2015 high, from 16,903 in 2015 to 15,771 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Scotts Bluff County rose 9% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 16,903 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.7% | 2024 11.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,114 | 2024 $64,569 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Scotts Bluff County's history
1888
Created November 6, 1888. Wikipedia
1955
A tornado in June 1955 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 38,344. The 2020 Census counted 36,084, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
1999
Hail in June 1999 did $55 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
Hail in July 2001 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
Hail in June 2023 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1997
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Scotts Bluff County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Scotts Bluff County beside its neighbors
Scotts Bluff County scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Nebraska and Wyoming. For the share of income from benefit checks, Scotts Bluff County ranks 3rd of the six; Box Butte County is highest, at 29.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotts Bluff County, NE | 41 | 11.0% | 25.2% |
| Box Butte County, NE | 33 | 10.8% | 29.4% |
| Goshen County, WY | 25 | 15.4% | 26.6% |
| Morrill County, NE | 19 | 13.4% | 19.9% |
| Banner County, NE | 15 | 10.8% | 17.8% |
| Sioux County, NE | 13 | 14.9% | 12.1% |
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 Scotts Bluff County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Scotts Bluff County's poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, 45th 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, Scotts Bluff County ranks 3rd of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Scotts Bluff 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 Scotts Bluff 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 Scotts Bluff County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.