Jefferson 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 ...

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 ...

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 7,240. 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 Fairbury. The county was named for

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, third

President of the United States of America The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. In the Nebraska license plate system, Jefferson County is represented by the prefix 33 (it had the thirty-third-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Jefferson County was founded on January 26, 1856, and its governing structure was organized in 1864. It was named for

, third president of the United States. In 2010, the Keystone-Cushing Pipeline (Phase II) was constructed south out of Jefferson County.

Geography

Jefferson County lies on the south line of Nebraska. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. The terrain of Jefferson County consists of low rolling hills, whose leveled tops are largely used for agriculture. The Little Blue River flows southeastward through the southwestern-middle of the county. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 136 * N-4

Nebraska Highway 4 * N-8

Nebraska Highway 8 * N-15

Nebraska Highway 15 * N-103

Nebraska Highway 103

Protected areas

* Alexandria State Recreation Area * Buckley State Recreation Area * Rock Creek Station State Historical Park * Rock Glen State Wildlife Management Area

Adjacent counties

* Saline County - north * Gage County - east *

Washington County, Kansas Washington County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Washington, Kansas, Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the county population was 5,530. ...

- south * Republic County, Kansas - southwest * Thayer County - west * Fillmore County - northwest

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 8,333 people, 3,527 households, and 2,352 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 3,942 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.42%

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 ...

, 0.07%

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 ...

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 ...

, 0.38% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 0.50% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races. 1.31% 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 3,527 households, out of which 28.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% 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, 5.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.30% were non-families. 29.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.85. The county population contained 23.30% under the age of 18, 6.10% from 18 to 24, 23.70% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 22.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,629, and the median income for a family was $40,747. Males had a median income of $26,929 versus $18,594 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 $18,380. About 8.00% of families and 8.90% 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 10.20% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Fairbury (county seat)

Villages

* Daykin * Diller * Endicott * Harbine * Jansen *

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

* Reynolds * Steele City

Unincorporated communities

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

* Helvey * Powell * Thompson

Politics

Jefferson County is strongly Republican, having only backed the Democratic Party presidential candidate five times since 1900.

References

External links

{{authority control Nebraska counties 1864 establishments in Nebraska Territory Populated places established in 1864