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 (Urban Institute, Debt in America, August 2025). 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. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 21.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 42.5 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index combines five things we measure for every county: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each gets a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the worse off the county is compared with others.
Niobrara County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Niobrara County ranks among all 3,144 U.S. counties on that measure, as a percentile: the share of counties it is higher than. A longer bar means more trouble.
- 58.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line19.7% · 202463rd percentile
- People with a disability18.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,390 · 202462nd percentile
- People below the poverty line15.2% · 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance5.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
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- 48.0 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
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- 44.6 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not workingnot published for this county; scored at the state median · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average4.4% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202662nd percentile
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- 22.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202534th percentile
- People with a credit card behind1.8% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score18.8% · Q4 202528th percentile
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- 21.3 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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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Niobrara County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Niobrara County
Wyoming
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Niobrara County in 2024, pay from work was 48 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 26 cents. Benefit checks were 26 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 9 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Niobrara County, benefit checks rose from 9 to 26 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Niobrara County, Wyoming: 25.7% and 47.9% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 25.7% of all personal income in Niobrara County, Wyoming (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4).
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.
How Niobrara County has changed
The number of people living in Niobrara County fell by about two in 10 between 1969 and 2024, from 2,888 to 2,301. The number of jobs located there stayed about the same from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment rose from 3.6% in 1990 to 4.1% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 2,888 | 2024 2,301 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 744 | 2024 810 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.9% | 2024 15.2% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $20,799 | 2024 $62,390 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 9.0% | 2024 25.7% |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices. We don't chart the distress score over time because it compares counties at one moment.
Dated events in Niobrara County's history
Largest decennial census count
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
1911
February 21, 1911 (authorized) 1913 (organized). Wikipedia
2015
Flash flood: $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
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
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 | 26 | 15.4% | 26.6% |
| Platte County, WY | 13 | 10.7% | 28.0% |
| Sioux County, NE | 12 | 14.9% | 12.1% |
| Converse County, WY | 11 | 9.8% | 17.8% |
| Weston County, WY | 5 | 10.5% | 27.6% |
| Custer County, SD | 2 | 9.6% | 23.5% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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.
Niobrara County in photographs
Places in Niobrara County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Stagecoach Museum in Lusk, Wyoming.
Lance Formation along Cow Creek, Niobrara County, Wyoming.
Niobrara County, Wyoming: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Niobrara County, Wyoming?
15.2% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in seven people. Among children it was 19.7%.
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.
What is the population of Niobrara County, Wyoming?
About 2,301 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 2,467, 39% of the county's peak of 6,321 in 1920.
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
We rank every U.S. county on 14 federal measures of money trouble, grouped into five equally weighted parts, and average them. The published score is the share of the other 3,143 counties with a lower average. The methodology lists every measure and its source.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Niobrara County
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor works at a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection BureauSourceCFPB.
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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
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,313 approved agencies 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 Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- 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.