About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Wayne County, Nebraska, have a job
In Wayne County, 10.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wayne County's score
In Wayne County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 49.1. Jobs are the lowest part, at 7.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wayne 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, Wayne County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 49.1 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 rent24.1% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.2% · fiscal year 202714th percentile
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- 34.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.5% · 202444th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.4% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability16.0% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,905 · 202438th percentile
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- 12.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people70.9 · 202519th percentile
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- 12.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.3% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.4% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.6% · second quarter of 202624th percentile
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- 7.4 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 20269th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County, 16.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wayne County
Nebraska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wayne County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 18.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Wayne County, Nebraska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wayne County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 3.6% in 2021 to 5.8% in 2022.
The share of households in Wayne County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2016, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 2.3% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wayne County, Nebraska.
How Wayne County has changed
Wayne County's population had its largest drop, from 10,488 in 1969 to 9,012 in 1974.
Wayne County's population fell 6% from 1969 to 2024, with its low point on the chart in 1974
Low on the chart: 9,012 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wayne County, Nebraska.
The number of jobs located in Wayne County had its largest rise, from 2,724 in 1990 to 3,575 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Wayne County rose by about half from 1990 to 2020, reaching 4,216, then turned down in 2025
High on the chart: 4,352 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wayne County, Nebraska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.6% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.3% | 2024 12.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,017 | 2024 $70,905 |
The table uses 3.0% 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 Wayne County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 10,566. The 2020 Census counted 9,697, 92% of the peak. Census Bureau
2014
A tornado in June 2014 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in June 2014 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flash flood in March 2019 did $1.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in April 2024 did $2,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wayne County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wayne County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Wayne County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wayne County ranks 4th of the seven; Thurston County is highest, at 23.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston County, NE | 45 | 16.9% | 23.2% |
| Stanton County, NE | 20 | 7.8% | 15.7% |
| Wayne County, NE | 7 | 12.5% | 18.7% |
| Dixon County, NE | 2 | 8.9% | 19.9% |
| Cuming County, NE | 2 | 8.6% | 17.3% |
| Pierce County, NE | 1 | 9.0% | 10.9% |
| Cedar County, NE | 0 | 8.7% | 20.0% |
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 Wayne County the poorest county in Nebraska?
No, Wayne County's poverty rate was 12.5% in 2024, 22nd 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, Wayne County ranks 64th of 93 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wayne 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 Wayne County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.