Nebraska County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 93 counties in Nebraska, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average Nebraska county scores 15.2.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
Nebraska Snapshot
93 Counties Scored
15.2 Mean Score
12.4 Median Score
46 Johnson County Most Distressed
0 Cedar County Least Distressed
3 moderate-low county distress11 low-moderate county distress13 low county distress26 very low county distress40 exceptionally low county distress
Score Label Distribution Nebraska County Map
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Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 93 Nebraska counties colored by county distress score range. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Nebraska's 93 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Nebraska Counties
93 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Johnson County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | — | Thurston County | 45 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 3 | — | Scotts Bluff County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 4 | — | Hall County | 39 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 5 | — | Douglas County | 36 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 6 | — | Dakota County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 7 | — | Kimball County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 8 | — | Garden County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 9 | — | Hitchcock County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 10 | — | Dawes County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 11 | — | Box Butte County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 12 | — | Pawnee County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 13 | — | Furnas County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 14 | — | Jefferson County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 15 | — | Boyd County | 29 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 16 | — | Red Willow County | 27 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 17 | — | Dawson County | 27 | low county distress | Labor |
| 18 | — | Dodge County | 26 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 19 | — | Lincoln County | 24 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 20 | — | Adams County | 23 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 21 | — | Cheyenne County | 23 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 22 | — | Blaine County | 22 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 23 | — | Stanton County | 21 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 24 | — | Gage County | 21 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 25 | — | Brown County | 21 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 26 | — | Deuel County | 20 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 27 | — | Sheridan County | 20 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 28 | — | Webster County | 19 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 29 | — | Thomas County | 19 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 30 | — | Morrill County | 18 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 31 | — | Hooker County | 18 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 32 | — | Lancaster County | 18 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 33 | — | Nemaha County | 17 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 34 | — | Richardson County | 17 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 35 | — | Keith County | 17 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 36 | — | Butler County | 16 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 37 | — | McPherson County | 16 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 38 | — | Madison County | 16 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 39 | — | Platte County | 16 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 40 | — | Banner County | 15 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 41 | — | Franklin County | 15 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 42 | — | Colfax County | 14 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 43 | — | Keya Paha County | 14 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 44 | — | Loup County | 14 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 45 | — | York County | 13 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 46 | — | Frontier County | 12 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 47 | — | Sioux County | 12 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 48 | — | Arthur County | 12 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 49 | — | Sherman County | 11 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 50 | — | Logan County | 11 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 51 | — | Custer County | 10 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 52 | — | Valley County | 10 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 53 | — | Cherry County | 10 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 54 | — | Saline County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 55 | — | Greeley County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 56 | — | Burt County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 57 | — | Garfield County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 58 | — | Chase County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 59 | — | Thayer County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 60 | — | Antelope County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 61 | — | Dundy County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 62 | — | Wheeler County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 63 | — | Buffalo County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 64 | — | Nuckolls County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 65 | — | Rock County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 66 | — | Merrick County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 67 | — | Wayne County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 68 | — | Fillmore County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 69 | — | Grant County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 70 | — | Knox County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 71 | — | Hayes County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 72 | — | Howard County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 73 | — | Harlan County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 74 | — | Sarpy County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 75 | — | Phelps County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 76 | — | Gosper County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 77 | — | Nance County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 78 | — | Otoe County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 79 | — | Cass County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 80 | — | Seward County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 81 | — | Kearney County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 82 | — | Washington County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 83 | 3,068 | Perkins County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 84 | 3,072 | Dixon County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 85 | 3,080 | Saunders County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 86 | 3,082 | Polk County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 87 | 3,083 | Cuming County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 88 | 3,089 | Pierce County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 89 | 3,097 | Holt County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 90 | 3,105 | Clay County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 91 | 3,115 | Boone County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 92 | 3,127 | Hamilton County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 93 | 3,132 | Cedar County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
extreme county distress — 0 Nebraska counties
very high county distress — 0 Nebraska counties
high county distress — 0 Nebraska counties
moderate-high county distress — 0 Nebraska counties
moderate county distress — 0 Nebraska counties
moderate-low county distress — 3 Nebraska counties
low-moderate county distress — 11 Nebraska counties
low county distress — 13 Nebraska counties
very low county distress — 26 Nebraska counties
exceptionally low county distress — 40 Nebraska counties