Counties in Nebraska by population

Douglas County had the highest population of 93 counties in 2023, at 593,496. McPherson County had the lowest, at 380. The median was 6,141 and the figure for Nebraska was 1.99 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest593,496Douglas County
Median6,14193 counties
Nebraska1,988,172History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Douglas CountyDouglas County: 593,496 persons593,496Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 328,128 persons328,128Sarpy CountySarpy County: 200,215 persons200,215Hall CountyHall County: 63,294 persons63,294Buffalo CountyBuffalo County: 50,745 persons50,745Dodge CountyDodge County: 37,521 persons37,521Madison CountyMadison County: 35,841 persons35,841Scotts Bluff CountyScotts Bluff County: 35,701 persons35,701Platte CountyPlatte County: 35,239 persons35,239Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 33,479 persons33,479Adams CountyAdams County: 30,908 persons30,908Cass CountyCass County: 27,463 persons27,463Dawson CountyDawson County: 24,460 persons24,460Saunders CountySaunders County: 23,500 persons23,500Gage CountyGage County: 21,644 persons21,644Dakota CountyDakota County: 21,307 persons21,307Washington CountyWashington County: 21,211 persons21,211Seward CountySeward County: 17,705 persons17,705Otoe CountyOtoe County: 16,429 persons16,429Saline CountySaline County: 14,788 persons14,788York CountyYork County: 14,402 persons14,402Colfax CountyColfax County: 10,721 persons10,721Box Butte CountyBox Butte County: 10,705 persons10,705Custer CountyCuster County: 10,609 persons10,609Red Willow CountyRed Willow County: 10,495 persons10,495Holt CountyHolt County: 10,119 persons10,119Wayne CountyWayne County: 9,933 persons9,933Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 9,557 persons9,557Cheyenne CountyCheyenne County: 9,521 persons9,521Phelps CountyPhelps County: 9,102 persons9,102Cuming CountyCuming County: 8,927 persons8,927Butler CountyButler County: 8,452 persons8,452Knox CountyKnox County: 8,349 persons8,349Cedar CountyCedar County: 8,258 persons8,258Keith CountyKeith County: 8,164 persons8,164Dawes CountyDawes County: 8,148 persons8,148Merrick CountyMerrick County: 7,760 persons7,760Richardson CountyRichardson County: 7,679 persons7,679Pierce CountyPierce County: 7,302 persons7,302Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 7,094 persons7,094
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
persons
Change on 2022
1Douglas County593,496+0.9%
2Lancaster County328,128+0.9%
3Sarpy County200,215+1.9%
4Hall County63,294+1.2%
5Buffalo County50,745+0.4%
6Dodge County37,521+0.9%
7Madison County35,841+1%
8Scotts Bluff County35,701-0.2%
9Platte County35,239+1.9%
10Lincoln County33,479-0.4%
11Adams County30,908-0.3%
12Cass County27,463+1.1%
13Dawson County24,460+1.6%
14Saunders County23,500+1.5%
15Gage County21,644+0.4%
16Dakota County21,307+0.4%
17Washington County21,211+0.1%
18Seward County17,705+0.4%
19Otoe County16,429+1.2%
20Saline County14,788+0.6%
21York County14,402+0.7%
22Colfax County10,721+0.9%
23Box Butte County10,705+0.4%
24Custer County10,609+1%
25Red Willow County10,495-0.5%
26Holt County10,119+0.8%
27Wayne County9,933-0.1%
28Hamilton County9,557+1.2%
29Cheyenne County9,521+0.2%
30Phelps County9,102+1.1%
31Cuming County8,927-0.5%
32Butler County8,452+0.2%
33Knox County8,349+0.3%
34Cedar County8,258-1.1%
35Keith County8,164-0.5%
36Dawes County8,148-1.2%
37Merrick County7,760+0.8%
38Richardson County7,679-0.8%
39Pierce County7,302-0.2%
40Jefferson County7,094-0.9%
41Nemaha County7,088+0.9%
42Kearney County6,732+0.7%
43Burt County6,710-1%
44Howard County6,548+0.3%
45Thurston County6,501+0.2%
46Antelope County6,306+0.1%
47Clay County6,141+1.5%
48Stanton County5,846+1.6%
49Dixon County5,5570%
50Fillmore County5,527-0%
51Cherry County5,522+0.5%
52Boone County5,331-0.7%
53Polk County5,208-0.4%
54Johnson County5,202-1.1%
55Sheridan County4,929-1.5%
56Thayer County4,854-0.2%
57Furnas County4,548-0.5%
58Morrill County4,511-0.2%
59Nuckolls County4,100+0.6%
60Valley County4,034-0.7%
61Chase County3,746-0.6%
62Webster County3,341+0.1%
63Kimball County3,313-0.9%
64Nance County3,274-1.3%
65Harlan County3,048+0.8%
66Sherman County2,982-0.8%
67Brown County2,863-1%
68Franklin County2,8290%
69Perkins County2,800-1.3%
70Frontier County2,614-0.7%
71Hitchcock County2,563-2%
72Pawnee County2,497-1.2%
73Greeley County2,217-1%
74Deuel County1,861-1.8%
75Gosper County1,845+0.7%
76Garden County1,812-1.5%
77Garfield County1,758-1.4%
78Boyd County1,747+0.6%
79Dundy County1,559-2.9%
80Rock County1,263+2.1%
81Sioux County1,200+2.9%
82Hayes County834-2.7%
83Keya Paha County801+0.1%
84Wheeler County779-0.5%
85Hooker County677-0.1%
85Thomas County677+1.8%
87Banner County668+1.7%
88Logan County654-4.7%
89Loup County588-1.8%
90Grant County567-3.6%
91Blaine County437-2.5%
92Arthur County412-3.3%
93McPherson County380+1.9%

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 593,496 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

McPherson County, with 380 in 2023.

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