About one in five people with a credit file in Niobrara County, Wyoming, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Niobrara County, 19.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 65% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Niobrara County's score
In Niobrara County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 58.8. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 20.9. People with a credit card behind: 1.8%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Niobrara 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.
Niobrara 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.
- 58.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.2% · 202466th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.7% · 202463rd percentile
- People with a disability18.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance5.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,390 · 202462nd percentile
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- 48.0 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 rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
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- 44.6 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 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not workingnot published for this county; scored at the state median · 2020 to 202427th percentile
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- 21.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.2% · August 202535th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people42.5 · 20256th percentile
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- 20.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.8% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202534th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.3% · second quarter of 202623rd 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 Niobrara 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 Niobrara County, 33.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Niobrara County
Wyoming
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Niobrara County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 25.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Niobrara County, Wyoming, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.7%; 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 Niobrara County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 4.5%
Biggest drop: 2013 to 2014, reaching 11.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Niobrara County, Wyoming.
How Niobrara County has changed
Niobrara County's population had its largest drop, from 3,288 in 1984 to 2,538 in 1989.
Niobrara County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 3,288 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Niobrara County, Wyoming.
The number of jobs located in Niobrara County had its largest rise, from 767 in 2005 to 872 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Niobrara County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 907 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Niobrara County, Wyoming.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.9% | 2024 15.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,799 | 2024 $62,390 |
The table uses 4.1% 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 Niobrara County's history
1911
February 21, 1911 (authorized) 1913 (organized). Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 6,321. The 2020 Census counted 2,467, 39% of the peak. Census Bureau
2015
A flash flood in June 2015 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
5 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Niobrara County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Niobrara County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Niobrara County, in Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Niobrara County ranks 5th of the eight; Fall River County is highest, at 36.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall River County, SD | 36 | 11.7% | 36.3% |
| Niobrara County, WY | 30 | 15.2% | 25.7% |
| Goshen County, WY | 25 | 15.4% | 26.6% |
| Platte County, WY | 14 | 10.7% | 28.0% |
| Sioux County, NE | 13 | 14.9% | 12.1% |
| Converse County, WY | 9 | 9.8% | 17.8% |
| Weston County, WY | 6 | 10.5% | 27.6% |
| Custer County, SD | 2 | 9.6% | 23.5% |
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 Niobrara County the poorest county in Wyoming?
No, Niobrara County's poverty rate was 15.2% in 2024, 3rd highest of 23 in Wyoming (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Albany County, at 15.9%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Niobrara County ranks 6th of 23 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Niobrara 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 Wyoming, Inc.
Legal aid
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Equal Justice Wyoming
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 Niobrara 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 Niobrara County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.