Kearney County, Nebraska

Kearney County Courthouse in Minden

Location in the U.S. state of Nebraska

Nebraska's location in the U.S.

Kearney County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,489. Its county seat is Minden. The county was formed in 1860. It was named after Fort Kearny, which in turn was named after Brigade General Stephen W. Kearny.

Kearney County is part of the Kearney, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area.

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

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 516 square miles (1,340 km2), of which 516 square miles (1,340 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (0.2%) is water.

### **Major Highways**

* U.S. Highway 6
* U.S. Highway 34
* Nebraska Highway 10
* 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

## Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,882 people, 2,643 households, and 1,902 families residing in the county. The population density was 13 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 2,846 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.82% White, 0.16% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.99% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 2.34% of the population were Hispanic 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 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.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.80% 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 for the county was $18,118. About 5.50% of families and 8.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.00% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities

### **Villages**

* Axtell
* Heartwell
* Norman
* Wilcox

### **Unincorporated Communities**

* Keene
* Lowell
* Newark

### **Townships**

* Blaine
* Cosmo
* Eaton
* Grant
* Hayes
* Liberty
* Lincoln
* Logan
* Lowell
* May
* Mirage
* Newark
* Oneida
* Sherman

## Notable People

* Carl Curtis, served as a Republican in the House of Representatives

## In the Timeline

### **Prime Timeline**

#### **The Oregon Trail (1971)**

In The Oregon Trail a family of pioneers attempts to brave the Oregon Trail in order to start a new life in the Willamette Valley. The family passed through territory which would eventually make up Kearney County, including Fort Kearny which the county would be named after.

## Notes

* This page was originally taken from Wikipedia. Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kearney\_County,\_Nebraska