Unemployment in Sheridan County, Nebraska, is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties
In Sheridan County, 2.5% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sheridan County's score
In Sheridan County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 63.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 16.7. People with a credit card behind: 3.2%, August 2025, lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sheridan 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.
Sheridan 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.
- 63.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.1% · 202457th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.8% · 202459th percentile
- People with a disability16.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- People without health insurance10.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,796 · 202471st percentile
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- 37.7 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 rent14.5% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
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- 25.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.1% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
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- 22.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.8% · August 202518th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people81.2 · 202526th percentile
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- 16.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.5% · second quarter of 202621st 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 Sheridan 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 Sheridan County, 27.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sheridan County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sheridan County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 24.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Sheridan County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sheridan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 13.5% in 2020 to 10.5% in 2021.
The share of households in Sheridan County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 7.0% 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, Sheridan County, Nebraska.
How Sheridan County has changed
Sheridan County's population fell most sharply after its 1984 high, from 7,642 in 1984 to 7,010 in 1989.
Sheridan County's population fell by about a third to 4,927, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 7,642 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sheridan County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Sheridan County moved most in two steps: 1,828 in 1990 to 1,939 in 1995; 1,892 in 2000 to 1,781 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Sheridan County fell 8% from 1990 to 2020, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 1,939 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sheridan County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.8% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.9% | 2024 14.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,118 | 2024 $59,796 |
The table uses 2.4% for 2025; the score uses 2.5% 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 Sheridan County's history
1885
Created February 25, 1885. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 10,793. The 2020 Census counted 5,127, 48% of the peak. Census Bureau
1978
A tornado in June 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1993
A tornado in May 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
Lightning in August 2012 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 2005
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sheridan County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sheridan County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Sheridan County, in Nebraska and South Dakota, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sheridan County ranks 6th of the eight; Oglala Lakota County is highest, at 49.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | 84 | 35.8% | 49.2% |
| Garden County, NE | 37 | 16.9% | 35.4% |
| Box Butte County, NE | 33 | 10.8% | 29.4% |
| Dawes County, NE | 32 | 15.9% | 27.0% |
| Sheridan County, NE | 21 | 14.1% | 24.7% |
| Morrill County, NE | 19 | 13.4% | 19.9% |
| Cherry County, NE | 9 | 10.2% | 20.9% |
| Grant County, NE | 7 | 11.2% | 25.6% |
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 Sheridan County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Sheridan County's poverty rate was 14.1% in 2024, 9th 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, Sheridan County ranks 27th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sheridan 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 Sheridan 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 Sheridan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.