Counties in Nebraska by population

Douglas County had the highest population of 93 counties in 2022, at 587,963. McPherson County had the lowest, at 373. The median was 6,050 and the figure for Nebraska was 1.97 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest587,963Douglas County
Median6,05093 counties
Nebraska1,972,595History

Top 40 counties, 2022

CSVChart (SVG)

Douglas CountyDouglas County: 587,963 persons587,963Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 325,122 persons325,122Sarpy CountySarpy County: 196,569 persons196,569Hall CountyHall County: 62,555 persons62,555Buffalo CountyBuffalo County: 50,553 persons50,553Dodge CountyDodge County: 37,198 persons37,198Scotts Bluff CountyScotts Bluff County: 35,785 persons35,785Madison CountyMadison County: 35,486 persons35,486Platte CountyPlatte County: 34,591 persons34,591Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 33,629 persons33,629Adams CountyAdams County: 31,016 persons31,016Cass CountyCass County: 27,177 persons27,177Dawson CountyDawson County: 24,082 persons24,082Saunders CountySaunders County: 23,152 persons23,152Gage CountyGage County: 21,559 persons21,559Dakota CountyDakota County: 21,227 persons21,227Washington CountyWashington County: 21,182 persons21,182Seward CountySeward County: 17,628 persons17,628Otoe CountyOtoe County: 16,235 persons16,235Saline CountySaline County: 14,693 persons14,693York CountyYork County: 14,308 persons14,308Box Butte CountyBox Butte County: 10,665 persons10,665Colfax CountyColfax County: 10,624 persons10,624Red Willow CountyRed Willow County: 10,546 persons10,546Custer CountyCuster County: 10,507 persons10,507Holt CountyHolt County: 10,038 persons10,038Wayne CountyWayne County: 9,940 persons9,940Cheyenne CountyCheyenne County: 9,504 persons9,504Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 9,446 persons9,446Phelps CountyPhelps County: 9,006 persons9,006Cuming CountyCuming County: 8,972 persons8,972Butler CountyButler County: 8,433 persons8,433Cedar CountyCedar County: 8,351 persons8,351Knox CountyKnox County: 8,325 persons8,325Dawes CountyDawes County: 8,251 persons8,251Keith CountyKeith County: 8,202 persons8,202Richardson CountyRichardson County: 7,738 persons7,738Merrick CountyMerrick County: 7,700 persons7,700Pierce CountyPierce County: 7,314 persons7,314Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 7,162 persons7,162
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022
persons
Change on 2021
1Douglas County587,963+0.4%
2Lancaster County325,122+0.5%
3Sarpy County196,569+1.4%
4Hall County62,555+0.8%
5Buffalo County50,553+0.4%
6Dodge County37,198+0.2%
7Scotts Bluff County35,785-0.3%
8Madison County35,486+0.2%
9Platte County34,591+0.8%
10Lincoln County33,629-1.3%
11Adams County31,016+0.1%
12Cass County27,177+0.3%
13Dawson County24,082+0.6%
14Saunders County23,152+1.4%
15Gage County21,559-0.4%
16Dakota County21,227-0.2%
17Washington County21,182+0.8%
18Seward County17,628+0.4%
19Otoe County16,235+1.3%
20Saline County14,693+1.1%
21York County14,308+0.6%
22Box Butte County10,6650%
23Colfax County10,624+1.3%
24Red Willow County10,546-0.7%
25Custer County10,507+0.1%
26Holt County10,038-0.1%
27Wayne County9,940+0.6%
28Cheyenne County9,504+0.1%
29Hamilton County9,446+0.6%
30Phelps County9,006+0.9%
31Cuming County8,972-0.3%
32Butler County8,433-0.2%
33Cedar County8,351+0.3%
34Knox County8,325-0.8%
35Dawes County8,251+1.3%
36Keith County8,202-0.7%
37Richardson County7,738-0.7%
38Merrick County7,700+0.5%
39Pierce County7,314-0.1%
40Jefferson County7,162-0%
41Nemaha County7,024+0.3%
42Burt County6,776+1%
43Kearney County6,687-0%
44Howard County6,526-0.1%
45Thurston County6,486-1.6%
46Antelope County6,300-0%
47Clay County6,0500%
48Stanton County5,753-1.3%
49Dixon County5,5570%
50Fillmore County5,529-0.3%
51Cherry County5,492+0.8%
52Boone County5,370-0.3%
53Johnson County5,261-1%
54Polk County5,229+0.8%
55Sheridan County5,003-1.5%
56Thayer County4,864-0.5%
57Furnas County4,571-0.7%
58Morrill County4,520-1%
59Nuckolls County4,076+0.1%
60Valley County4,0630%
61Chase County3,770-1.6%
62Kimball County3,342-1.9%
63Webster County3,338-1.6%
64Nance County3,318-1.7%
65Harlan County3,024-2.4%
66Sherman County3,006+1.1%
67Brown County2,892-1%
68Perkins County2,838+0.7%
69Franklin County2,828-1.6%
70Frontier County2,632+3.2%
71Hitchcock County2,615+0.4%
72Pawnee County2,527-0.3%
73Greeley County2,240+2.5%
74Deuel County1,895+2.5%
75Garden County1,839-0.2%
76Gosper County1,833+0.2%
77Garfield County1,783-2.7%
78Boyd County1,736-2.6%
79Dundy County1,605-1.5%
80Rock County1,237-3.1%
81Sioux County1,166+1%
82Hayes County857+1.9%
83Keya Paha County800+0.5%
84Wheeler County783-0.1%
85Logan County686+0.4%
86Hooker County678-7.6%
87Thomas County665-1.6%
88Banner County657-4.6%
89Loup County599-0.7%
90Grant County588+1.7%
91Blaine County448-3.7%
92Arthur County426-1.6%
93McPherson County373-1.8%

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 587,963 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

McPherson County, with 373 in 2022.

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