Pierce County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers 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 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 sover ...

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 southwe ...

. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, the population was 7,266. 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 st ...

Pierce Pierce may refer to: Places Canada * Pierce Range, a mountain range on Vancouver Island, British Columbia United States * Pierce, Colorado * Pierce, Idaho * Pierce, Illinois * Pierce, Kentucky * Pierce, Nebraska * Pierce, Texas * Pierce, We ...

. The county was formed in 1859, and was named for US President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

. Pierce County is part of the

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area. In the Nebraska license plate system, Pierce County is represented by the prefix 40 (it had the 40th-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

The Pierce County terrain consists of low rolling hills, sloping to the east and southeast. The north fork of the Elkhorn River flows southeastward through the central part of the county, while Dry Fork drains the lower western part, then discharges into the north fork of the Elkhorn. Most of the county's area is devoted to agriculture, often under

central pivot irrigation Center-pivot irrigation (sometimes called central pivot irrigation), also called water-wheel and circle irrigation, is a method of crop irrigation in which equipment rotates around a pivot and crops are watered with sprinklers. A circular area ...

. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 20 * US 81

U.S. Highway 81 U.S. Route 81 or U.S. Highway 81 (US 81) is a major north–south U.S. highway that extends for in the central United States and is one of the original United States Numbered Highways established in 1926 by the American Association of Stat ...

Nebraska Highway 13 Nebraska Highway 13 is a highway in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska that runs predominantly northwest–southeast with a south terminus east of Hadar at an intersection with U.S. Highway 81 and a north terminus two miles (3&nb ...

Nebraska Highway 98 Nebraska Highway 98 is a highway in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska. Its western terminus is at an intersection with Nebraska Highway 13 in Pierce. Its eastern terminus is at an intersection with Nebraska Highway 35 west of ...

Nebraska Highway 121 Nebraska Highway 121 is a highway in northeastern Nebraska. It is a discontinuous highway with three segments: * The southern segment begins at Nebraska Highway 32 west of Madison and ends at U.S. Highway 275 north of Battle Creek. * The middl ...

Adjacent counties

Cedar County Cedar County may refer to: * Cedar County, Iowa * Cedar County, Missouri * Cedar County, Nebraska * Cedar County, Choctaw Nation * Cedar County, Washington The list of county secession proposals in the United States includes proposed new coun ...

– northeast * Wayne County – east * Stanton County – southeast * Madison County – south * Antelope County – west * Knox County – north

Protected areas

* Willow Creek Recreation Area

Demographics

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

, there were 7,857 people, 2,979 households, and 2,141 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 14 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 3,247 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.65%

White White is the 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 reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.08%

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 have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.36% Native American, 0.20%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, 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 the original p ...

, 0.23% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.46% from two or more races. 0.71% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 2,979 households, out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.40% 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, 5.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.14. The county population contained 29.00% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 17.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,239, and the median income for a family was $40,500. Males had a median income of $26,563 versus $20,237 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 $15,980. About 8.80% of families and 11.80% 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 t ...

, including 14.20% of those under age 18 and 12.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Osmond *

(county seat) * Plainview

Villages

* Foster * Hadar *

McLean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Goidelic languages, Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish language, Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John (given name), John). The clan surname is an A ...

Unincorporated communities

* Breslau * Wee Town

Politics

Pierce County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020).

References

{{authority control Norfolk Micropolitan Statistical Area 1859 establishments in Nebraska Territory Populated places established in 1859