About one in 11 people with a credit file in Sherman County, Nebraska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Sherman County, 9.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sherman County's score
In Sherman County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 40.8. Jobs are the lowest part, at 7.0. About one in nine adults aged 25 to 54 (11.1%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sherman 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.
Sherman 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.
- 40.8 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent16.9% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.7% · fiscal year 202738th percentile
-
- 37.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.6% · 202436th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.5% · 202451st percentile
- People with a disability13.1% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- People without health insurance4.1% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,724 · 202465th percentile
-
- 29.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people134.1 · 202553rd percentile
-
- 15.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.6% · August 202520th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202521st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.8% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
-
- 7.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20268th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower 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 Sherman 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 Sherman County, 27.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sherman County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sherman County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Sherman County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sherman County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.0% in 2009 to 6.3% in 2010.
The share of households in Sherman County getting SNAP food aid fell by about half from 2009 to 2023, reaching 4.8%, then turned up in 2024
Low on the chart: 4.8% 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, Sherman County, Nebraska.
How Sherman County has changed
Sherman County's population fell 38% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 4,380. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sherman County, Nebraska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Sherman County fell 12% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 805 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sherman County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.0% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.2% | 2024 11.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,454 | 2024 $61,724 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Sherman County's history
1870
1870 (founded) 1872 (organized). Wikipedia
1872
Created in 1870 and organized in 1872. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 9,122. The 2020 Census counted 2,959, 32% of the peak. Census Bureau
1934
Clash between leftist activists and area residents in June 1934 during Communist worker organizing efforts at poultry processing plant. Wikipedia
1955
A tornado in July 1955 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
Hail in July 2017 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in March 2019 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A thunderstorm in June 2022 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1966
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sherman County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sherman County beside its neighbors
Sherman County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Sherman County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (27.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherman County, NE | 11 | 11.6% | 27.2% |
| Custer County, NE | 10 | 11.5% | 24.2% |
| Greeley County, NE | 9 | 10.7% | 21.3% |
| Valley County, NE | 9 | 10.8% | 22.7% |
| Buffalo County, NE | 6 | 8.7% | 15.5% |
| Howard County, NE | 6 | 9.5% | 22.2% |
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 Sherman County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Sherman County's poverty rate was 11.6% in 2024, 34th 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, Sherman County ranks 50th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sherman 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 Sherman 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 Sherman County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.