Jefferson County, Nebraska

Jefferson County
County
Jefferson County Courthouse in Fairbury
Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°10′N97°09′W / 40.17°N 97.15°W / 40.17; -97.15
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Founded	January 26, 1856 (founded) 1864 (organized)
Named for	Thomas Jefferson
Seat	Fairbury
Largest city	Fairbury
Area
• Total	576 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Land	570 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Water	5.5 sq mi (14 km2)  1.0%
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,240
• Estimate  (2021)	7,176
• Density	13/sq mi (4.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.co.jefferson.ne.us

Jefferson County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,240. ^[1] Its county seat is Fairbury. ^[2] The county was named for Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States of America. In the Nebraska license plate system, Jefferson County is represented by the prefix 33 (it had the thirty-third-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Jefferson County was founded on January 26, 1856, and its governing structure was organized in 1864. ^{[3] [4]} It was named for Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States. ^[5]

In 2010, the Keystone-Cushing Pipeline (Phase II) was constructed south out of Jefferson County.

Geography

Jefferson County lies on the south line of Nebraska. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of Kansas. The terrain of Jefferson County consists of low rolling hills, whose leveled tops are largely used for agriculture. The Little Blue River flows southeastward through the southwestern-middle of the county. The county has a total area of 576 square miles (1,490 km²), of which 570 square miles (1,500 km²) is land and 5.5 square miles (14 km²) (1.0%) is water. ^[6]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 136
• Nebraska Highway 4
• Nebraska Highway 8
• Nebraska Highway 15
• Nebraska Highway 103

Protected areas

• Alexandria State Recreation Area ^[7]
• Buckley State Recreation Area ^[8]
• Rock Creek Station State Historical Park
• Rock Glen State Wildlife Management Area ^[9]

Adjacent counties

• Saline County - north
• Gage County - east
• Washington County, Kansas - south
• Republic County, Kansas - southwest
• Thayer County - west
• Fillmore County - northwest

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	2,440		—
1880	8,096		231.8%
1890	14,850		83.4%
1900	15,196		2.3%
1910	16,852		10.9%
1920	16,140		−4.2%
1930	16,409		1.7%
1940	15,532		−5.3%
1950	13,623		−12.3%
1960	11,620		−14.7%
1970	10,436		−10.2%
1980	9,817		−5.9%
1990	8,759		−10.8%
2000	8,333		−4.9%
2010	7,547		−9.4%
2020	7,240		−4.1%
2021 (est.)	7,176	[1]	−0.9%
US Decennial Census [10] 1790-1960 [11] 1900-1990 [12] 1990-2000 [13] 2010-2013 [14]

As of the 2000 United States Census, ^[15] there were 8,333 people, 3,527 households, and 2,352 families in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile (5.4 people/km²). There were 3,942 housing units at an average density of 7 units per square mile (2.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.42% White, 0.07% Black or African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races. 1.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,527 households, out of which 28.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 5.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.30% were non-families. 29.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.85.

The county population contained 23.30% under the age of 18, 6.10% from 18 to 24, 23.70% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 22.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,629, and the median income for a family was $40,747. Males had a median income of $26,929 versus $18,594 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,380. About 8.00% of families and 8.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.20% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Fairbury (county seat)

Villages

• Daykin
• Diller
• Endicott
• Harbine
• Jansen
• Plymouth
• Reynolds
• Steele City

Unincorporated communities

• Gladstone
• Helvey
• Powell
• Thompson

Politics

Jefferson County is strongly Republican, having only backed the Democratic Party presidential candidate five times since 1900.

United States presidential election results for Jefferson County, Nebraska ^{[16] [17]}

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,614	71.83%	968	26.60%	57	1.57%
2020	2,616	70.13%	1,016	27.24%	98	2.63%
2016	2,399	68.66%	837	23.96%	258	7.38%
2012	2,166	62.86%	1,195	34.68%	85	2.47%
2008	2,103	56.88%	1,520	41.11%	74	2.00%
2004	2,600	64.82%	1,352	33.71%	59	1.47%
2000	2,351	61.11%	1,361	35.38%	135	3.51%
1996	1,979	49.17%	1,520	37.76%	526	13.07%
1992	1,783	39.70%	1,506	33.53%	1,202	26.76%
1988	2,471	57.16%	1,819	42.08%	33	0.76%
1984	3,116	68.89%	1,367	30.22%	40	0.88%
1980	3,090	67.59%	1,125	24.61%	357	7.81%
1976	2,628	54.88%	2,068	43.18%	93	1.94%
1972	3,008	67.08%	1,476	32.92%	0	0.00%
1968	2,793	60.23%	1,572	33.90%	272	5.87%
1964	2,275	44.79%	2,804	55.21%	0	0.00%
1960	4,047	68.11%	1,895	31.89%	0	0.00%
1956	4,267	71.25%	1,722	28.75%	0	0.00%
1952	4,941	76.12%	1,550	23.88%	0	0.00%
1948	3,352	60.29%	2,208	39.71%	0	0.00%
1944	4,257	66.06%	2,187	33.94%	0	0.00%
1940	4,980	64.35%	2,759	35.65%	0	0.00%
1936	3,048	39.98%	4,526	59.37%	50	0.66%
1932	2,453	33.14%	4,819	65.10%	130	1.76%
1928	4,359	65.96%	2,193	33.18%	57	0.86%
1924	2,752	48.12%	1,824	31.89%	1,143	19.99%
1920	3,488	67.94%	1,408	27.43%	238	4.64%
1916	1,813	46.85%	1,841	47.57%	216	5.58%
1912	655	18.58%	1,396	39.60%	1,474	41.82%
1908	1,941	50.49%	1,787	46.49%	116	3.02%
1904	2,067	66.63%	659	21.24%	376	12.12%
1900	1,862	53.09%	1,587	45.25%	58	1.65%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Nebraska
• Oto Reservation

References

1. "County Population Totals: 2020-2021". Census.gov. US Census Bureau. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Fitzpatrick, Lilian Linder (1925). Nebraska Place-Names. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Studies in Language, Literature, and Criticism. p. 81. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
4. Andreas, A. T. (1882). "Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska". The Kansas Collection. Archived from the original on March 24, 2003. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
5. History of Nebraska ^[usurped]
6. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
7. Alexandria State Recreation Area, Alexandria NE Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
8. Buckley State Recreation Area Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
9. Rock Glen SWMA, Jefferson County NE Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
10. "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
12. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
13. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
14. "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
15. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
16. Election Results
17. The leading "other" candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 1,205 votes, while Socialist candidate Eugene Debs received 226 votes and Prohibition Eugene Chafin received 43 votes.

External links

Official website

40°10′N97°09′W / 40.17°N 97.15°W / 40.17; -97.15