State food-access profile · 93 counties

Food access in Nebraska

How far Nebraska residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

21.9%
low-access pop.: 55
food-desert tracts: 8.1%
on SNAP: 93
counties

The statewide picture

About 400K Nebraska residents - 21.9% - live in a low-access area, and 55 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

400K
low-access residents: 103K
food-desert residents: 5.4%
households, no vehicle: 10.6%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Nebraska stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Nebraska is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Nebraska against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 93 counties and 2.0M residents, Nebraska's population-weighted low-access share is 21.9%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 55 tracts in Nebraska, home to roughly 103K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 8.1% of households, and 5.4% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

Counties

21.9%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

400K

Low-access residents

8.1%

Avg. SNAP

Arthur

100
Blaine

100
Hayes

100
Hooker

100
McPherson

100
Thomas

100
Keya Paha

99.9
Banner

98.5

All counties in Nebraska

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Arthur County	484	100.0%	5.9%	4.3%	7.2%
Blaine County	422	100.0%	N/A	2.5%	9.0%
Hayes County	843	100.0%	5.0%	3.2%	12.7%
Hooker County	647	100.0%	0.3%	6.1%	6.2%
McPherson County	475	100.0%	0.9%	7.1%	12.2%
Thomas County	564	100.0%	4.3%	4.6%	8.9%
Keya Paha County	822	99.9%	1.3%	1.3%	7.2%
Banner County	742	98.5%	1.3%	1.0%	7.7%
Hitchcock County	3K	95.0%	7.4%	4.0%	12.8%
Wheeler County	847	89.1%	2.8%	3.6%	5.2%
Otoe County	16K	71.8%	6.0%	3.0%	9.1%
Greeley County	2K	66.1%	6.1%	2.2%	13.1%
Gosper County	2K	64.1%	7.4%	1.0%	10.3%
Sioux County	1K	63.7%	2.2%	5.9%	14.9%
Red Willow County	11K	58.2%	9.2%	9.3%	14.0%
Webster County	3K	52.4%	9.5%	3.3%	9.6%
Morrill County	5K	50.3%	11.6%	4.6%	13.9%
Franklin County	3K	47.0%	6.6%	2.1%	12.3%
Pierce County	7K	46.5%	7.4%	3.2%	7.6%
Custer County	11K	44.6%	7.8%	4.2%	7.1%
Dawson County	24K	41.3%	6.2%	5.2%	10.8%
Grant County	626	41.0%	2.1%	3.9%	12.2%
Loup County	578	39.9%	6.1%	1.6%	6.9%
Cherry County	5K	38.8%	4.4%	7.5%	8.3%
Garden County	2K	37.9%	11.1%	2.1%	16.5%
Frontier County	3K	37.8%	11.5%	2.0%	11.4%
Nuckolls County	4K	37.3%	5.7%	2.9%	5.7%
Sarpy County	197K	36.7%	4.7%	3.0%	5.6%
Boyd County	2K	36.3%	6.9%	0.8%	9.7%
Adams County	31K	35.0%	9.1%	4.6%	12.7%
Dixon County	6K	33.9%	7.9%	1.6%	7.3%
Dundy County	2K	33.3%	8.0%	4.6%	14.0%
Box Butte County	11K	32.6%	7.1%	6.4%	10.8%
Gage County	22K	32.4%	10.9%	8.3%	12.6%
Seward County	18K	32.4%	5.4%	4.3%	7.4%
Saline County	15K	32.2%	4.5%	3.2%	8.9%
Sheridan County	5K	32.0%	10.2%	3.7%	11.3%
Colfax County	11K	31.6%	8.9%	0.4%	6.9%
Merrick County	8K	31.6%	5.7%	1.9%	7.9%
Buffalo County	51K	30.7%	6.5%	4.5%	9.9%
Knox County	8K	30.7%	7.4%	4.6%	13.7%
Richardson County	8K	30.7%	7.5%	8.0%	10.5%
Holt County	10K	29.8%	8.3%	3.8%	11.7%
Jefferson County	7K	29.8%	12.5%	7.6%	10.1%
Madison County	36K	29.6%	8.5%	6.9%	13.1%
Perkins County	3K	29.6%	5.1%	2.6%	7.2%
Chase County	4K	29.4%	4.7%	1.8%	7.5%
Dawes County	8K	29.0%	10.0%	4.0%	13.1%
Dodge County	37K	28.2%	8.2%	3.9%	11.0%
Rock County	1K	28.0%	5.3%	5.8%	10.8%
Keith County	8K	27.6%	8.9%	5.6%	10.4%
Hall County	63K	27.1%	10.4%	6.6%	14.1%
Deuel County	2K	26.8%	8.4%	3.3%	9.4%
Johnson County	5K	26.2%	11.9%	7.4%	9.7%
Clay County	6K	24.7%	6.1%	4.7%	6.9%
Saunders County	23K	24.5%	4.6%	4.4%	6.3%
Phelps County	9K	22.3%	9.9%	6.2%	12.2%
Cuming County	9K	22.2%	2.5%	3.5%	6.7%
Fillmore County	6K	22.2%	5.9%	2.8%	8.8%
Cheyenne County	10K	21.5%	12.3%	4.3%	14.3%
Washington County	21K	20.4%	4.7%	3.0%	6.4%
Sherman County	3K	20.2%	5.2%	6.9%	8.6%
Howard County	7K	20.1%	6.7%	3.0%	4.8%
York County	14K	19.7%	7.4%	6.4%	9.2%
Platte County	35K	19.2%	7.1%	5.1%	9.8%
Thayer County	5K	18.8%	7.2%	3.4%	9.0%
Cass County	27K	18.4%	4.3%	3.4%	5.2%
Cedar County	8K	18.3%	5.4%	1.7%	7.1%
Pawnee County	3K	18.1%	5.9%	5.8%	13.5%
Hamilton County	9K	17.3%	4.8%	1.4%	5.2%
Lancaster County	327K	17.0%	8.4%	6.2%	11.9%
Dakota County	21K	16.2%	10.0%	4.5%	11.5%
Butler County	8K	15.5%	5.8%	4.0%	9.7%
Lincoln County	34K	14.4%	11.6%	4.1%	12.4%
Logan County	773	14.0%	2.0%	N/A	5.6%
Antelope County	6K	12.9%	4.7%	4.1%	9.2%
Boone County	5K	12.3%	3.9%	2.8%	9.6%
Douglas County	591K	11.9%	9.5%	6.8%	11.8%
Valley County	4K	11.5%	9.8%	3.5%	9.3%
Brown County	3K	10.1%	6.0%	4.7%	13.4%
Garfield County	2K	10.1%	5.0%	6.1%	8.8%
Wayne County	10K	9.0%	6.8%	5.5%	13.2%
Scotts Bluff County	36K	7.7%	11.9%	7.0%	12.9%
Stanton County	6K	7.5%	4.8%	1.6%	9.4%
Harlan County	3K	6.9%	5.3%	1.1%	6.7%
Kimball County	3K	6.8%	11.3%	3.8%	12.2%
Polk County	5K	4.8%	4.9%	2.1%	7.9%
Nance County	3K	4.6%	6.9%	2.2%	16.6%
Furnas County	5K	4.1%	5.1%	4.2%	13.0%
Nemaha County	7K	4.0%	13.3%	4.8%	13.3%
Thurston County	7K	3.3%	14.7%	5.4%	13.9%
Kearney County	7K	2.5%	3.9%	0.9%	7.2%
Burt County	7K	0.7%	10.3%	5.8%	13.2%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

21.9% of Nebraska residents, about 400K people, live in a low-access area.
55 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 103K low-income, low-access residents.
8.1% of households receive SNAP, and 5.4% have no vehicle.
Arthur County has the state's highest low-access share at 100.0%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Nebraska has low food access?▼

21.9% of Nebraska residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in Nebraska?▼

55 census tracts in Nebraska are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 103K low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Nebraska?▼

Across Nebraska counties, an average of 8.1% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in Nebraska has the worst food access?▼

Arthur County has the highest low-access share in Nebraska at 100.0%, with 5.9% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

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