Kearney County, Nebraska
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Kearney County is a
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 6,688. Its
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is
Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...
. The county was formed in 1860. It was named for
Fort Kearny Fort Kearny was a historic outpost of the United States Army founded in 1848 in the Western United States during the middle and late 19th century. The fort was named after Colonel and later General Stephen Watts Kearny. The outpost was located ...
, which in turn was named for Brigade General Stephen W. Kearny. Kearney County is part of the
Kearney Micropolitan Statistical Area The Kearney Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Nebraska, anchored by the city of Kearney. As of the 2010 census, the area had a population of 52,591 (though a J ...
. In the Nebraska license plate system, Kearney County is represented by the prefix 52 (it had the 52nd-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).


Geography

The terrain of Kearney County consists of gently rolling low hills, mostly devoted to agriculture. The
Platte River The Platte River () is a major American river, in the state of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, w ...
flows eastward along the north county boundary. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.


Major highways

* U.S. Highway 6 * U.S. Highway 34 *
Nebraska Highway 10 Nebraska Highway 10 is a highway in Nebraska. Its southern terminus is at the Kansas border south of Franklin. Its northern terminus is at an intersection with Nebraska Highway 58, Nebraska Highway 92, and Recreation Road 82B in Loup City. ...
* Nebraska Highway 44 * Nebraska Highway 74


Adjacent counties

* Buffalo County - north * Adams County - east * Webster County - southeast * Franklin County - south * Harlan County - southwest * Phelps County - west


Protected areas

* Clark Federal Waterfowl Production Area * Fort Kearny State Historical Park * Fort Kearny State Recreation Area (partial) * Jensen Lagoon National Wildlife Management Area * Prairie Dog Federal Waterfowl Production Area * Youngson Lagoon Natural Wildlife Production Area


Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 6,882 people, 2,643 households, and 1,902 families in the county. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...
was . There were 2,846 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.82%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.16%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.20% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.99% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 2.34% of the population were
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race. There were 2,643 households, out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.90% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 6.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.98. The county population contained 80% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,247, and the median income for a family was $44,877. Males had a median income of $29,987 versus $20,081 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $18,118. About 5.50% of families and 8.50% 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 10.00% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.


Communities


City

*
Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...
(county seat)


Villages

* Axtell * Heartwell * Norman * Wilcox


Unincorporated communities

* Keene * Lowell * Newark


Ghost town

* Dobytown


Townships

* Blaine * Cosmo * Eaton * Grant * Hayes *
Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
* Lincoln * Logan * Lowell *
May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...
*
Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...
* Newark * Oneida * Sherman


Notable people

*
Carl Curtis Carl Thomas Curtis (March 15, 1905 – January 24, 2000) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. He served as a Republican in the United States House of Representatives (1939–1954) and later the United States Se ...
, Republican in the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
and
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...


Politics

Kearney County voters are strongly Republican. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Kearney County, Nebraska


References


External links

* {{Coord, 40.51, -98.95, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-NE_source:UScensus1990 Kearney Micropolitan Statistical Area 1860 establishments in Nebraska Territory Populated places established in 1860