Counties in Nebraska by population

Douglas County had the highest population of 93 counties in 2020, at 585,428. McPherson County had the lowest, at 396. The median was 6,101 and the figure for Nebraska was 1.96 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest585,428Douglas County
Median6,10193 counties
Nebraska1,963,318History

Top 40 counties, 2020

CSVChart (SVG)

Douglas CountyDouglas County: 585,428 persons585,428Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 323,178 persons323,178Sarpy CountySarpy County: 191,179 persons191,179Hall CountyHall County: 62,767 persons62,767Buffalo CountyBuffalo County: 50,197 persons50,197Dodge CountyDodge County: 37,099 persons37,099Scotts Bluff CountyScotts Bluff County: 36,046 persons36,046Madison CountyMadison County: 35,533 persons35,533Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 34,534 persons34,534Platte CountyPlatte County: 34,302 persons34,302Adams CountyAdams County: 31,176 persons31,176Cass CountyCass County: 26,610 persons26,610Dawson CountyDawson County: 24,083 persons24,083Saunders CountySaunders County: 22,365 persons22,365Gage CountyGage County: 21,661 persons21,661Dakota CountyDakota County: 21,544 persons21,544Washington CountyWashington County: 20,932 persons20,932Seward CountySeward County: 17,624 persons17,624Otoe CountyOtoe County: 15,904 persons15,904Saline CountySaline County: 14,716 persons14,716York CountyYork County: 14,095 persons14,095Box Butte CountyBox Butte County: 10,821 persons10,821Red Willow CountyRed Willow County: 10,682 persons10,682Colfax CountyColfax County: 10,559 persons10,559Custer CountyCuster County: 10,496 persons10,496Holt CountyHolt County: 10,095 persons10,095Wayne CountyWayne County: 9,705 persons9,705Cheyenne CountyCheyenne County: 9,488 persons9,488Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 9,406 persons9,406Cuming CountyCuming County: 9,011 persons9,011Phelps CountyPhelps County: 8,978 persons8,978Knox CountyKnox County: 8,377 persons8,377Cedar CountyCedar County: 8,373 persons8,373Butler CountyButler County: 8,355 persons8,355Keith CountyKeith County: 8,323 persons8,323Dawes CountyDawes County: 8,157 persons8,157Richardson CountyRichardson County: 7,862 persons7,862Merrick CountyMerrick County: 7,656 persons7,656Pierce CountyPierce County: 7,344 persons7,344Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 7,260 persons7,260
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
persons
1Douglas County585,428
2Lancaster County323,178
3Sarpy County191,179
4Hall County62,767
5Buffalo County50,197
6Dodge County37,099
7Scotts Bluff County36,046
8Madison County35,533
9Lincoln County34,534
10Platte County34,302
11Adams County31,176
12Cass County26,610
13Dawson County24,083
14Saunders County22,365
15Gage County21,661
16Dakota County21,544
17Washington County20,932
18Seward County17,624
19Otoe County15,904
20Saline County14,716
21York County14,095
22Box Butte County10,821
23Red Willow County10,682
24Colfax County10,559
25Custer County10,496
26Holt County10,095
27Wayne County9,705
28Cheyenne County9,488
29Hamilton County9,406
30Cuming County9,011
31Phelps County8,978
32Knox County8,377
33Cedar County8,373
34Butler County8,355
35Keith County8,323
36Dawes County8,157
37Richardson County7,862
38Merrick County7,656
39Pierce County7,344
40Jefferson County7,260
41Nemaha County7,086
42Thurston County6,759
43Burt County6,721
44Kearney County6,690
45Howard County6,487
46Antelope County6,287
47Clay County6,101
48Stanton County5,823
49Dixon County5,581
50Fillmore County5,567
51Cherry County5,457
52Boone County5,361
53Johnson County5,292
54Polk County5,214
55Sheridan County5,102
56Thayer County5,022
57Furnas County4,624
58Morrill County4,554
59Nuckolls County4,093
60Valley County4,058
61Chase County3,891
62Kimball County3,409
63Nance County3,392
64Webster County3,389
65Harlan County3,058
66Sherman County2,960
67Brown County2,902
68Franklin County2,885
69Perkins County2,859
70Hitchcock County2,623
71Pawnee County2,536
72Frontier County2,506
73Greeley County2,183
74Gosper County1,895
75Garden County1,889
76Deuel County1,833
77Boyd County1,810
78Garfield County1,807
79Dundy County1,654
80Rock County1,268
81Sioux County1,146
82Hayes County848
83Wheeler County773
84Keya Paha County760
85Logan County712
86Hooker County706
87Banner County679
88Thomas County671
89Grant County612
90Loup County607
91Arthur County430
92Blaine County429
93McPherson County396

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 585,428 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

McPherson County, with 396 in 2020.

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