Largest village Arthur Area 1,860 km² Population 458 (2013) County seat Arthur Cities Arthur | Time zone Mountain: UTC-7/-6 Founded 1854 Unemployment rate 3.3% (Apr 2015) Named for Chester A. Arthur | |
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Arthur County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 census, the population was 460, making it Nebraska's least populous county and the fifth-least populous county in the United States (behind only Loving County, Texas, Kalawao County, Hawaii, King County, Texas, and Kenedy County, Texas). Its county seat and only incorporated community is Arthur.
Contents
- Map of Arthur County NE USA
- History
- Geography
- Major highways
- Adjacent counties
- Demographics
- Religion
- Village
- Unincorporated communities
- References
Map of Arthur County, NE, USA
In the Nebraska license plate system, Arthur County is represented by the prefix 91 (it had the ninety-first-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).
Arthur County contains the historic First Arthur County Courthouse and Jail, believed to be the smallest courthouse in the United States.
History
Arthur County was formed in 1913 and named after President Chester A. Arthur. Arthur County was formed from what had been McPherson County after there had been an effort to move the McPherson County seat from Tryon to the more centrally located Flats. Rather than lose the county seat, the residents of Tryon agreed to have the county divided approximately in half when it was discovered such a division had been part of earlier governmental planning. The county seat for Arthur County became the newly formed Arthur, which was formed and incorporated for that purpose. The village of Arthur is in a valley near the county's geographic center.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 718 square miles (1,860 km2), of which 715 square miles (1,850 km2) is land and 3.0 square miles (7.8 km2) (0.4%) is water.
Major highways
Adjacent counties
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 444 people, 185 households, and 138 families residing in the county. The population density was 0.618 people per square mile (0.239/km²). There were 273 housing units at an average density of 0.380 per square mile (0.147/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.40% White, 0.23% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 0.90% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. 1.35% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 50.4% were of German, 13.1% English, 6.2% Irish and 5.7% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 185 households out of which 27.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.20% were married couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.40% were non-families. 21.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.80.
In the county, the population was spread out with 23.90% under the age of 18, 5.40% from 18 to 24, 29.50% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 101.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $27,375, and the median income for a family was $31,979. Males had a median income of $21,544 versus $13,125 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,810. About 7.90% of families and 13.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.10% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over.
Religion
More than 50% of the county residents are Baptists, making it the most northern majority Baptist county in the United States.