Hayes County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the U.S. state of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 967. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Hayes Center. The county was created in 1877, and was organized in 1884. It was named for Rutherford B. Hayes, the

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

at the time of the county's creation. In the Nebraska license plate system, Hayes County is represented by the prefix 79 (it had the seventy-ninth-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

The terrain of Hayes County is hilly. The flattened hilltops are largely used for center pivot irrigation. Small creeks and streams drain the upper elevations; the largest is Red Willow Creek, which drains to Hugh Butler Lake just east of the SE corner of Hayes County, in Frontier County. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.03%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 6 * N-25

Nebraska Highway 25 Nebraska Highway 25 is a highway in southwestern Nebraska. It runs for . Its southern terminus is at the Kansas border south of Trenton. Its northern terminus is at U.S. Highway 30 in Sutherland. A previous routing of the highway is now Nebra ...

Nebraska Highway 25A

Adjacent counties

* Frontier County – east *

Hitchcock County Hitchcock County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 2,616. Its county seat is Trenton. In the Nebraska license plate system, Hitchcock County is represented by the prefix 67 (it h ...

– south * Dundy County – southwest * Chase County – west * Perkins County – northwest * Lincoln County – north

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 1,068 people, 430 households, and 312 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 526 housing units at an average density of 0.7 per square mile (0.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.19%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 0.19%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.28% Asian, 1.78% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 2.53% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 430 households, out of which 28.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.00% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 2.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.40% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.60% 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 contains 26.60% under the age of 18, 5.50% from 18 to 24, 21.50% from 25 to 44, 26.50% from 45 to 64, and 19.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 100.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,667, and the median income for a family was $31,125. Males had a median income of $19,211 versus $16,806 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $14,099. About 14.60% of families and 18.40% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 26.20% of those under age 18 and 12.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Villages

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

* Hayes Center (county seat) * Palisade (partial)

Unincorporated community

* Marengo

Townships

Hayes County has not been subdivided into

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

, unlike most other Nebraska counties.

Former communities

* Carrico * Eddy * Elmer * Estel * Galena * Highland * Hope * Hudson * Marengo * Norris * Robert * Strickland * Sullivan * Thornburgh * White

Politics

Hayes County voters have traditionally been strongly Republican. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. In 2020 Donald Trump received 92% of the vote, one of the highest margins by far.

References

{{authority control Nebraska counties 1884 establishments in Nebraska Populated places established in 1884