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 2020, at 18.2%. Sarpy County had the lowest, at 4.9%. The median was 10% and the figure for Nebraska was 9.2%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest18.2Thurston County
Lowest4.9Sarpy County
Median1093 counties
Nebraska9.2History

Top 40 counties, 2020

CSVChart (SVG)

Thurston CountyThurston County: 18.2 %18.2Keya Paha CountyKeya Paha County: 17.3 %17.3Sioux CountySioux County: 15.3 %15.3Loup CountyLoup County: 15.1 %15.1Dawes CountyDawes County: 14.7 %14.7Hayes CountyHayes County: 14.7 %14.7Garden CountyGarden County: 13.9 %13.9Sheridan CountySheridan County: 13.8 %13.8Knox CountyKnox County: 13.6 %13.6Blaine CountyBlaine County: 13.3 %13.3Rock CountyRock County: 13.3 %13.3McPherson CountyMcPherson County: 13.1 %13.1Frontier CountyFrontier County: 13 %13Boyd CountyBoyd County: 12.9 %12.9Pawnee CountyPawnee County: 12.7 %12.7Morrill CountyMorrill County: 12.5 %12.5Scotts Bluff CountyScotts Bluff County: 12.4 %12.4Wheeler CountyWheeler County: 12.4 %12.4Arthur CountyArthur County: 12.3 %12.3Johnson CountyJohnson County: 12.3 %12.3Thomas CountyThomas County: 12.3 %12.3Dundy CountyDundy County: 12.2 %12.2Greeley CountyGreeley County: 12.2 %12.2Hitchcock CountyHitchcock County: 12 %12Hall CountyHall County: 11.8 %11.8Nemaha CountyNemaha County: 11.8 %11.8Keith CountyKeith County: 11.7 %11.7Garfield CountyGarfield County: 11.6 %11.6Burt CountyBurt County: 11.5 %11.5Cherry CountyCherry County: 11.4 %11.4Nance CountyNance County: 11.4 %11.4Sherman CountySherman County: 11.4 %11.4Phelps CountyPhelps County: 11.3 %11.3Valley CountyValley County: 11.2 %11.2Kimball CountyKimball County: 11 %11Holt CountyHolt County: 10.9 %10.9Brown CountyBrown County: 10.8 %10.8Madison CountyMadison County: 10.6 %10.6Antelope CountyAntelope County: 10.4 %10.4Franklin CountyFranklin County: 10.4 %10.4
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020 (%)Change on 2019
1Thurston County18.2-6.7 pts
2Keya Paha County17.3-1.6 pts
3Sioux County15.3-0.6 pts
4Loup County15.1-0.1 pts
5Dawes County14.7-1.7 pts
5Hayes County14.7-0.3 pts
7Garden County13.9-1.1 pts
8Sheridan County13.8-0.7 pts
9Knox County13.6+1.4 pts
10Blaine County13.3-2.6 pts
10Rock County13.3-0.6 pts
12McPherson County13.1+0.5 pts
13Frontier County13+0.1 pts
14Boyd County12.9-1.2 pts
15Pawnee County12.7-0.4 pts
16Morrill County12.5-0.7 pts
17Scotts Bluff County12.4-0.6 pts
17Wheeler County12.4+0.1 pts
19Arthur County12.3-1.3 pts
19Johnson County12.3+1.1 pts
19Thomas County12.3-1.6 pts
22Dundy County12.2-1.2 pts
22Greeley County12.2-0.3 pts
24Hitchcock County12+0.7 pts
25Hall County11.8+1.6 pts
25Nemaha County11.80 pts
27Keith County11.7+0.6 pts
28Garfield County11.6-0.5 pts
29Burt County11.5+1.4 pts
30Cherry County11.4+0.7 pts
30Nance County11.4+1.1 pts
30Sherman County11.4-1 pts
33Phelps County11.3+1.3 pts
34Valley County11.2+0.8 pts
35Kimball County11-1.2 pts
36Holt County10.9-0.2 pts
37Brown County10.8-0.8 pts
38Madison County10.6+0.4 pts
39Antelope County10.4-1.8 pts
39Franklin County10.4-3.9 pts
41Deuel County10.3-0.9 pts
42Adams County10.2-0.4 pts
42Webster County10.2-2.1 pts
44Banner County10.1-1.2 pts
45Cheyenne County10-0.1 pts
45Furnas County10-2.2 pts
45Perkins County10+0.5 pts
48Dakota County9.9-0.7 pts
48Harlan County9.9-1.1 pts
48Jefferson County9.9+0.4 pts
51Custer County9.8-2 pts
51Douglas County9.8-0.4 pts
51Nuckolls County9.8-1.4 pts
51Thayer County9.8-1 pts
55Dodge County9.7+0.2 pts
56Merrick County9.6-1.4 pts
57Box Butte County9.5-0.8 pts
57Buffalo County9.5-2.1 pts
57Red Willow County9.5-2.5 pts
57Richardson County9.5-2.8 pts
57Wayne County9.5-2.3 pts
62Lancaster County9.4-1.3 pts
62Lincoln County9.4-1.4 pts
64Logan County9.3+0.4 pts
64York County9.3-0.1 pts
66Grant County9.2-0.4 pts
67Clay County9.1-1.5 pts
68Howard County8.8-1.3 pts
69Boone County8.7-1.3 pts
70Dawson County8.6-3.3 pts
71Cedar County8.5-0.1 pts
71Fillmore County8.50 pts
71Gage County8.5-2.7 pts
74Otoe County8.4+0.1 pts
75Chase County8.2-0.9 pts
75Colfax County8.20 pts
75Pierce County8.2-1.1 pts
78Saline County8-1.2 pts
79Cuming County7.9-1 pts
79Dixon County7.9-0.8 pts
79Gosper County7.9-1 pts
79Hooker County7.9-0.3 pts
83Kearney County7.6-0.1 pts
84Butler County7.5-0.7 pts
85Polk County7.3+0.4 pts
86Stanton County6.9-0.1 pts
87Seward County6.8-0.4 pts
88Hamilton County6.7+0.2 pts
89Platte County6.6-2.4 pts
90Cass County5.9+0.6 pts
91Saunders County5.7-1.2 pts
92Washington County5.3-1.5 pts
93Sarpy County4.9-1 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/2020/2020-state-and-county/est20all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Nebraska by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Nebraska","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Nebraska&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Thurston County, with 18.2% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Sarpy County, with 4.9% in 2020.

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