Data / Rankings / Poverty rate (US official measure) / Counties in Nebraska

Counties in Nebraska by poverty rate

Thurston County had the highest poverty rate of 93 counties in 2017, at 23.3%. Sarpy County had the lowest, at 5.1%. The median was 11.6% and the figure for Nebraska was 10.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest23.3Thurston County
Lowest5.1Sarpy County
Median11.693 counties
Nebraska10.7History

Top 40 counties, 2017

CSVChart (SVG)

Thurston CountyThurston County: 23.3 %23.3Keya Paha CountyKeya Paha County: 17.7 %17.7Sioux CountySioux County: 17.1 %17.1Dawes CountyDawes County: 17 %17Hayes CountyHayes County: 16.7 %16.7Loup CountyLoup County: 15.8 %15.8Garden CountyGarden County: 15.6 %15.6Dundy CountyDundy County: 14.9 %14.9Blaine CountyBlaine County: 14.5 %14.5Morrill CountyMorrill County: 14.3 %14.3Rock CountyRock County: 14.3 %14.3Sheridan CountySheridan County: 14.3 %14.3Arthur CountyArthur County: 13.8 %13.8Kimball CountyKimball County: 13.8 %13.8Dodge CountyDodge County: 13.7 %13.7Franklin CountyFranklin County: 13.7 %13.7Hitchcock CountyHitchcock County: 13.7 %13.7Thomas CountyThomas County: 13.5 %13.5Scotts Bluff CountyScotts Bluff County: 13.3 %13.3Pawnee CountyPawnee County: 13.2 %13.2Frontier CountyFrontier County: 13.1 %13.1Madison CountyMadison County: 13.1 %13.1Richardson CountyRichardson County: 13 %13Webster CountyWebster County: 13 %13Buffalo CountyBuffalo County: 12.7 %12.7Dakota CountyDakota County: 12.7 %12.7Johnson CountyJohnson County: 12.7 %12.7McPherson CountyMcPherson County: 12.7 %12.7Boyd CountyBoyd County: 12.6 %12.6Knox CountyKnox County: 12.6 %12.6Nemaha CountyNemaha County: 12.6 %12.6Greeley CountyGreeley County: 12.5 %12.5Keith CountyKeith County: 12.3 %12.3Deuel CountyDeuel County: 12.2 %12.2Wayne CountyWayne County: 12.2 %12.2Adams CountyAdams County: 12.1 %12.1Brown CountyBrown County: 12.1 %12.1Custer CountyCuster County: 12.1 %12.1Valley CountyValley County: 12.1 %12.1Hall CountyHall County: 12 %12
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Thurston County23.3-2 pts
2Keya Paha County17.7+1.6 pts
3Sioux County17.1+1.6 pts
4Dawes County17+0.1 pts
5Hayes County16.7-0.1 pts
6Loup County15.8-0.2 pts
7Garden County15.6-0.7 pts
8Dundy County14.9+2.5 pts
9Blaine County14.5-1 pts
10Morrill County14.3-2.2 pts
10Rock County14.3+0.5 pts
10Sheridan County14.3-1.9 pts
13Arthur County13.8+1.9 pts
13Kimball County13.8+0.8 pts
15Dodge County13.7+2 pts
15Franklin County13.7+0.4 pts
15Hitchcock County13.7+0.8 pts
18Thomas County13.5-0.4 pts
19Scotts Bluff County13.3-2.6 pts
20Pawnee County13.2-2.2 pts
21Frontier County13.1+0.6 pts
21Madison County13.1-1.2 pts
23Richardson County13+0.6 pts
23Webster County13+0.1 pts
25Buffalo County12.7+1.5 pts
25Dakota County12.7+0.7 pts
25Johnson County12.7+0.1 pts
25McPherson County12.7+0.5 pts
29Boyd County12.6-2.1 pts
29Knox County12.6-0.3 pts
29Nemaha County12.6-0.8 pts
32Greeley County12.5-1.8 pts
33Keith County12.3-0.5 pts
34Deuel County12.2+0.7 pts
34Wayne County12.2+0.2 pts
36Adams County12.1-0.6 pts
36Brown County12.1-1.7 pts
36Custer County12.1+0.5 pts
36Valley County12.1+0.5 pts
40Hall County12-0.7 pts
41Nance County11.8-0.7 pts
42Banner County11.7-0.8 pts
42Cherry County11.7-0.2 pts
42Sherman County11.7-0.6 pts
45Box Butte County11.6+0.1 pts
45Garfield County11.6-1.2 pts
45Lincoln County11.6+2.2 pts
45Thayer County11.6+0.4 pts
49Burt County11.5+0.8 pts
49Dawson County11.5-1.2 pts
49Jefferson County11.5+0.8 pts
49Nuckolls County11.5-1 pts
53Douglas County11.4-1 pts
53Lancaster County11.4-0.8 pts
55Antelope County11.2-0.1 pts
55Furnas County11.2-2.8 pts
57Red Willow County10.9+0.2 pts
58Clay County10.8-0.5 pts
58Holt County10.8+0.2 pts
60Gage County10.7-0.6 pts
61Saline County10.6-0.9 pts
62Harlan County10.4-1.7 pts
63Cheyenne County10.2+0.8 pts
63Merrick County10.2-0.2 pts
65York County10.1-0.4 pts
66Grant County100 pts
66Howard County10-0.5 pts
68Pierce County9.5-0.1 pts
69Chase County9.30 pts
69Perkins County9.3-1.3 pts
71Boone County9.2-0.9 pts
71Colfax County9.2-0.6 pts
71Gosper County9.2-0.6 pts
71Wheeler County9.2-2.2 pts
75Otoe County9.1-0.4 pts
76Logan County8.9-1.4 pts
77Dixon County8.8+0.3 pts
77Phelps County8.8-0.4 pts
79Hooker County8.6+0.4 pts
79Platte County8.6-0.4 pts
81Butler County8.5-0.4 pts
82Kearney County8.4-0.7 pts
83Cedar County8.3-1.1 pts
83Cuming County8.3-0.4 pts
85Fillmore County8.2-1.6 pts
86Stanton County7.8+0.2 pts
87Saunders County7.6+0.2 pts
88Seward County7.5-0.4 pts
89Washington County7.2+0.2 pts
90Polk County6.9-1.1 pts
91Hamilton County6.5-1.2 pts
92Cass County6-1.6 pts
93Sarpy County5.1-0.7 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People living in families or alone with income below the official US poverty thresholds, as a percentage of people whose poverty status can be determined. United States: Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), all ages.

Absolute thresholds set by the US government, so not comparable with the EU at_risk_of_poverty_rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2017/2017-state-and-county/est17all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Rank Counties in Nebraska by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Thurston County, with 23.3% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Sarpy County, with 5.1% in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Poverty rate (US official measure): other rankings

Counties in Nebraska: more rankings