About 19 in 20 adults aged 25 to 54 in Thomas County, Nebraska, have a job
In Thomas County, 2.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Thomas County's score
In Thomas County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 43.9. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 24.8. About one in 48 renters (2.1%, 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 Thomas 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.
Thomas 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.
- 43.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.4% · 202451st percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.5% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability12.8% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,299 · 202469th percentile
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- 41.1 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 score46.9% · second quarter of 202672nd percentile
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- 34.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202663rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working2.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower 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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- 24.8 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 rent2.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th 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 Thomas 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 Thomas County, 39.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Thomas County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Thomas County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 23.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Thomas County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Thomas County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2018, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 0.0% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Thomas County, Nebraska.
How Thomas County has changed
Thomas County's population had its largest drop, from 958 in 1984 to 864 in 1989.
Thomas County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 36% since
High on the chart: 994 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Thomas County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Thomas County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 283 in 2005 to 218 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Thomas County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 285 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Thomas County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.5% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.9% | 2024 13.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,814 | 2024 $60,299 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Thomas County's history
1887
Formed in 1887. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 1,773. The 2020 Census counted 669, 38% of the peak. Census Bureau
1986
A tornado in August 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 2001
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Thomas County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Thomas County beside its neighbors
Thomas County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Thomas County ranks 3rd of the six; Hooker County is highest, at 33.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas County, NE | 24 | 13.4% | 23.1% |
| Blaine County, NE | 22 | 14.5% | 18.5% |
| Hooker County, NE | 18 | 7.8% | 33.3% |
| McPherson County, NE | 16 | 11.7% | 20.4% |
| Logan County, NE | 11 | 9.0% | 23.8% |
| Cherry County, NE | 9 | 10.2% | 20.9% |
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 Thomas County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Thomas County's poverty rate was 13.4% in 2024, 11th 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, Thomas County ranks 20th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Thomas 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 Thomas 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 Thomas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.