Founded 1870 Largest city Kearney Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5 Area 2,525 km² Unemployment rate 2.0% (Apr 2015) | Named for American bison Congressional district 3rd Website www.buffalogov.org Population 47,893 (2013) County seat Kearney | |
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Cities Kearney, Gibbon, Ravenna, Elm Creek, Pleasanton, Shelton Rivers Platte River, Wood River, South Loup River University University of Nebraska at Kearney | ||
Buffalo County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 census, the population was 46,102, making it Nebraska's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Kearney. The county was created in 1855 and later organized in 1870. It was named after the then-prevalent buffalo herds.
Contents
- Map of Buffalo County NE USA
- Geography
- Demographics
- Cities
- Villages
- Census designated places
- Unincorporated communities
- References
Map of Buffalo County, NE, USA
Buffalo County is part of the Kearney, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area.
In the Nebraska license plate system, Buffalo County is represented by the prefix 9; when the license plate system was established in 1922, the county ranked ninth in number of registered vehicles.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 875 square miles (2,270 km2), of which 968 square miles (2,510 km2) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km2) (0.7%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 42,259 people, 15,930 households, and 10,227 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile (17/km²). There were 16,830 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.18% White, 0.55% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.20% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. 4.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 42.5% were of German, 8.1% Irish, 7.8% English, 6.8% American and 5.3% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 15,930 households out of which 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.90% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.80% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the county, the population was spread out with 25.00% under the age of 18, 17.80% from 18 to 24, 26.60% from 25 to 44, 19.00% from 45 to 64, and 11.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,782, and the median income for a family was $46,247. Males had a median income of $30,182 versus $21,977 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,510. About 6.30% of families and 11.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.50% of those under age 18 and 8.50% of those age 65 or over.