Craig is a village in
Burt County,
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 ...
, United States. The population was 199 at the
2010 census.
History
During the 19th century the land near Craig was inhabited by the
Pawnee,
Otoe-Missouria, and
Omaha people.
American Indian inhabitants were numerous when white settlement began in the 1860s.
The village was established as a water-station on the
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway and named for early settler William Stewart Craig, who in the early 1880s donated the land on which the town was built. Craig was laid out in 1881.
Craig's Main Street was a busy commercial center prior to the 1920s, when the introduction of automobiles made it easier to shop elsewhere.
Craig became impoverished during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. The First National Bank of Craig closed in 1933; bank depositors recovered about 78 cents on the dollar several years later.
Craig's former village clerk Kristie Jensen was sentenced to prison in 2018 for embezzling over $185,000 in village funds.
Water tower

Craig has a distinctive standpipe water tower dating from the early 20th century. Its walls have thinned over the years but it still functions as the town's water supply.
Geography
Most of the town is situated on a single hillside overlooking the
Bell Creek valley.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the village has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 199 people, 85 households, and 51 families residing in the village. 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 105 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.5%
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 ...
, 0.5%
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 ...
, 2.5%
Native American, 0.5%
Asian, 2.0% from
other races, and 3.0% from two or more races.
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 were 2.5% of the population.
There were 85 households, of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were
married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.0% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.92.
The median age in the village was 46.2 years. 23.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.5% were from 25 to 44; 33.1% were from 45 to 64; and 19.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 241 people, 99 households, and 69 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 111 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.59%
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 ...
, and 0.41%
Native American.
There were 99 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were
married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $29,583, and the median income for a family was $31,023. Males had a median income of $30,417 versus $14,464 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 village was $10,818. About 15.5% of families and 23.4% 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 38.5% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.
Climate
This
climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Craig has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps.
Climate Summary for Craig, Nebraska
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Notable People
* Ira J. McDonald, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
City Council member 1941–43, born in Craig
* Nathaniel Dixon, founder and CEO of Dixon Builders’ Inc.
References
{{authority control
Villages in Burt County, Nebraska
Villages in Nebraska