Counties in Nebraska by population, 2025

Douglas County had the highest population of 93 counties in 2025, at 606,460. McPherson County had the lowest, at 369. The median was 6,170 and the figure for Nebraska was 2.02 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest606,460Douglas County
Median6,17093 counties
Nebraska2,018,006History

Top 40 counties, 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Douglas CountyDouglas County: 606,460 persons606,460Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 334,049 persons334,049Sarpy CountySarpy County: 208,303 persons208,303Hall CountyHall County: 63,633 persons63,633Buffalo CountyBuffalo County: 51,172 persons51,172Dodge CountyDodge County: 38,057 persons38,057Madison CountyMadison County: 36,106 persons36,106Platte CountyPlatte County: 35,649 persons35,649Scotts Bluff CountyScotts Bluff County: 35,586 persons35,586Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 33,303 persons33,303Adams CountyAdams County: 31,071 persons31,071Cass CountyCass County: 27,657 persons27,657Dawson CountyDawson County: 24,452 persons24,452Saunders CountySaunders County: 23,702 persons23,702Gage CountyGage County: 21,711 persons21,711Dakota CountyDakota County: 21,687 persons21,687Washington CountyWashington County: 21,302 persons21,302Seward CountySeward County: 18,032 persons18,032Otoe CountyOtoe County: 16,531 persons16,531Saline CountySaline County: 14,996 persons14,996York CountyYork County: 14,564 persons14,564Colfax CountyColfax County: 10,934 persons10,934Custer CountyCuster County: 10,500 persons10,500Box Butte CountyBox Butte County: 10,494 persons10,494Red Willow CountyRed Willow County: 10,307 persons10,307Holt CountyHolt County: 10,067 persons10,067Wayne CountyWayne County: 10,020 persons10,020Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 9,678 persons9,678Cheyenne CountyCheyenne County: 9,528 persons9,528Phelps CountyPhelps County: 8,994 persons8,994Cuming CountyCuming County: 8,823 persons8,823Butler CountyButler County: 8,507 persons8,507Cedar CountyCedar County: 8,373 persons8,373Knox CountyKnox County: 8,335 persons8,335Keith CountyKeith County: 8,100 persons8,100Merrick CountyMerrick County: 7,905 persons7,905Dawes CountyDawes County: 7,858 persons7,858Richardson CountyRichardson County: 7,530 persons7,530Pierce CountyPierce County: 7,378 persons7,378Nemaha CountyNemaha County: 7,102 persons7,102
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025
persons
Change on 2024
1Douglas County606,460+0.9%
2Lancaster County334,049+0.8%
3Sarpy County208,303+1.9%
4Hall County63,633-0.4%
5Buffalo County51,172+0.1%
6Dodge County38,057+0.3%
7Madison County36,106+0.9%
8Platte County35,649-0%
9Scotts Bluff County35,586-0.2%
10Lincoln County33,303+0.1%
11Adams County31,071-0.4%
12Cass County27,657+0.6%
13Dawson County24,452-0.3%
14Saunders County23,702+1.1%
15Gage County21,711+0.1%
16Dakota County21,687+0.9%
17Washington County21,302+0.1%
18Seward County18,032+0.8%
19Otoe County16,531+0.4%
20Saline County14,996+0.1%
21York County14,564+0.9%
22Colfax County10,934+0.2%
23Custer County10,500-0.2%
24Box Butte County10,494-1.6%
25Red Willow County10,307-0.9%
26Holt County10,0670%
27Wayne County10,020+1.2%
28Hamilton County9,678+0.5%
29Cheyenne County9,528-0.1%
30Phelps County8,994-0.4%
31Cuming County8,823-1%
32Butler County8,507+0.5%
33Cedar County8,373+0.3%
34Knox County8,335-0.5%
35Keith County8,100-0.7%
36Merrick County7,905+0.8%
37Dawes County7,858-2%
38Richardson County7,530-0.8%
39Pierce County7,378+0.4%
40Nemaha County7,102-0%
41Jefferson County7,070-1.1%
42Kearney County6,790+0.4%
43Thurston County6,752+2.2%
44Burt County6,678-0.7%
45Howard County6,5380%
46Antelope County6,352-0.3%
47Clay County6,170+0.9%
48Stanton County5,744-0.7%
49Dixon County5,602+0.4%
50Cherry County5,561-0.2%
51Fillmore County5,458-0.1%
52Boone County5,355-0.6%
53Polk County5,270-0.3%
54Johnson County5,218+0.4%
55Thayer County4,842-0.7%
56Sheridan County4,809-1.9%
57Furnas County4,524+1.2%
58Morrill County4,404-1%
59Nuckolls County4,100+0.1%
60Valley County4,094+0.7%
61Chase County3,718+0.1%
62Kimball County3,391+2.8%
63Webster County3,336+0.3%
64Nance County3,290+0.1%
65Harlan County3,000-0.5%
66Sherman County2,924-1%
67Perkins County2,849+1.5%
68Brown County2,826-0.4%
69Franklin County2,795-0.9%
70Frontier County2,655+1.9%
71Pawnee County2,510-0.3%
72Hitchcock County2,467-0.7%
73Greeley County2,154-1.3%
74Deuel County1,862-0.1%
75Garden County1,804-0.4%
76Gosper County1,803-1.3%
77Garfield County1,710+0.6%
78Boyd County1,674-2.6%
79Dundy County1,568-0.1%
80Rock County1,259-0.2%
81Sioux County1,188-1.4%
82Hayes County821-2%
83Keya Paha County792-2%
84Wheeler County789-0.4%
85Banner County686+2.4%
85Hooker County686-1.7%
87Logan County669-2%
88Thomas County639-1.5%
89Loup County570-2.7%
90Grant County561-0.4%
91Blaine County458-0.2%
92Arthur County396-5%
93McPherson County369-1.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population?

Douglas County, with 606,460 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

McPherson County, with 369 in 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in Nebraska: more rankings