Buffalo County, Nebraska facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Buffalo County
U.S. county
Buffalo County Courthouse in Kearney
Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Founded	1855 (authorized) 1870 (organized)
Named for	American bison
Seat	Kearney
Largest city	Kearney
Area
• Total	975 sq mi (2,530 km2)
• Land	968 sq mi (2,510 km2)
• Water	7.3 sq mi (19 km2)  0.7%%
Population
• Estimate  (2018)	49,615
• Density	51.4/sq mi (19.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Buffalo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 46,102, making it Nebraska's fifth-most populous of the 93 counties. Its county seat is Kearney. The county was created in 1855 and was organized in 1870. It was named after the once-prevalent buffalo herds of the Great Plains.

Buffalo County is part of the Kearney, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Buffalo County is represented by the prefix 9; when the license plate system was established in 1922, the county ranked ninth in number of registered vehicles.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 875 square miles (2,270 km²), of which 968 square miles (2,510 km²) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km²) (0.7%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 42,259 people, 15,930 households, and 10,227 families in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile (17/km²). There were 16,830 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.18% White, 0.55% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.20% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. 4.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 42.5% were of German, 8.1% Irish, 7.8% English, 6.8% American and 5.3% Swedish ancestry.

There were 15,930 households, out of which 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.90% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.80% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

The county population contained 25.00% under the age of 18, 17.80% from 18 to 24, 26.60% from 25 to 44, 19.00% from 45 to 64, and 11.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,782, and the median income for a family was $46,247. Males had a median income of $30,182 versus $21,977 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,510. About 6.30% of families and 11.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.50% of those under age 18 and 8.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Map of Buffalo County

Cities

• Gibbon
• Kearney (county seat)
• Ravenna

Villages

• Amherst
• Elm Creek
• Miller
• Pleasanton
• Riverdale
• Shelton

Census-designated places

• Glenwood
• Odessa
• Poole

Unincorporated communities

• Buda
• Denman
• Prairie Center
• Saint Michael
• Sartoria
• Sweetwater

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Buffalo (Nebraska) para niños