About one in 12 people in Thurston County, Nebraska, has a disability
In Thurston County, 8.7% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Thurston County's score
In Thurston County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 71.6. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 20.4. About one in 10 renters (10.2%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Thurston 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.
Even so, Thurston County is worse off than most counties on people with a car or retail loan behind (8.9%, August 2025) and people with a subprime credit score (52.8%, Q2 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.9% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.9% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.8% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 58.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.4% · August 202584th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people91.5 · 202531st percentile
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- 53.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.9% · 202475th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.9% · 202471st percentile
- People with a disability8.7% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance9.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,125 · 202454th percentile
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- 32.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.8% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
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- 20.4 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 rent10.2% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.7% · fiscal year 202728th 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 Thurston 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 Thurston County, 12.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Thurston County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Thurston County had its largest rise, from 13.2% in 1974 to 17.9% in 1979.
In Thurston County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Thurston County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.2%; 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 Thurston County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 18.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Thurston County, Nebraska.
How Thurston County has changed
Thurston County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1974 high, from 7,010 in 1969 to 7,353 in 1974.
Thurston County's population fell 5% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 7,353 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Thurston County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Thurston County had its largest rise in the last span, from 2,955 in 2020 to 3,331 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Thurston County nearly doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 3,331, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 2,955. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Thurston County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.8% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 30.6% | 2024 16.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,623 | 2024 $65,125 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Thurston County's history
1889
Organized by European Americans in 1889 from territory divided between Dakota and Burt counties since dissolution of Blackbird County in 1879. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 10,462. The 2020 Census counted 6,773, 65% of the peak. Census Bureau
1954
A tornado in June 1954 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1977
A tornado in July 1977 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Thurston County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Thurston County beside its neighbors
Thurston County scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Nebraska and Iowa. For the share of income from benefit checks, Thurston County ranks 3rd of the eight; Monona County is highest, at 28.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston County, NE | 45 | 16.9% | 23.2% |
| Woodbury County, IA | 39 | 13.6% | 23.0% |
| Dakota County, NE | 34 | 11.2% | 16.2% |
| Monona County, IA | 20 | 11.1% | 28.0% |
| Burt County, NE | 9 | 10.0% | 26.9% |
| Wayne County, NE | 7 | 12.5% | 18.7% |
| Dixon County, NE | 2 | 8.9% | 19.9% |
| Cuming County, NE | 2 | 8.6% | 17.3% |
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 Thurston County the poorest county in Nebraska?
Yes, Thurston County's poverty rate was 16.9% in 2024, the highest of 93 counties in Nebraska (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Thurston County ranks 2nd of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Thurston 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 Thurston 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 Thurston County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.