In Sioux County, Nebraska, benefit checks make up only 12 cents of every dollar of income
In Sioux County, 12.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sioux County's score
In Sioux County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 53.6. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 13.6. About one in 67 renters (1.5%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sioux 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.
Sioux 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.
- 53.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.9% · 202464th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.2% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability16.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,434 · 202447th percentile
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- 30.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202516th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202544th percentile
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- 23.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202529th 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 score31.6% · second quarter of 202618th percentile
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- 17.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202616th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
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- 13.6 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 rent1.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202722nd 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 Sioux 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 Sioux County, 27.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sioux County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sioux County had its largest drop, from 17.2% in 2009 to 7.2% in 2014.
In Sioux County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 12.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about six times as much as benefit checks
In Sioux County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sioux County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 6.3% in 2021 to 2.4% in 2022.
The share of households in Sioux County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 2.2%
Low on the chart: 1.5% 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, Sioux County, Nebraska.
How Sioux County has changed
Sioux County's population fell most sharply after its 1979 high, from 2,115 in 1979 to 1,794 in 1984.
Sioux County's population fell by about half to 1,099, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 2,115 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sioux County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Sioux County had its largest drop, from 191 in 1995 to 152 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Sioux County fell 8% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2000
Low on the chart: 152 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sioux County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.0% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.4% | 2024 14.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,503 | 2024 $67,434 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Sioux County's history
1877
February 19, 1877 (created) October 1, 1886 (organized). Wikipedia
1886
Created February 19, 1877 and organized October 1, 1886. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 5,599. The 2020 Census counted 1,135, 20% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1991
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sioux County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sioux County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Sioux County, in Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming, score higher than it does. Of the group, Sioux County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Fall River County gets the largest, at 36.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotts Bluff County, NE | 41 | 11.0% | 25.2% |
| Fall River County, SD | 36 | 11.7% | 36.3% |
| Box Butte County, NE | 33 | 10.8% | 29.4% |
| Dawes County, NE | 32 | 15.9% | 27.0% |
| Niobrara County, WY | 30 | 15.2% | 25.7% |
| Goshen County, WY | 25 | 15.4% | 26.6% |
| 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 Sioux County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Sioux County's poverty rate was 14.9% in 2024, 6th 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, Sioux County ranks 46th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sioux 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.
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 Sioux County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.