Lincoln County, Nebraska

Not to be confused with Lincoln, Nebraska.

Lincoln County
County
Lincoln County Courthouse in North Platte
Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°03′N100°45′W / 41.05°N 100.75°W / 41.05; -100.75
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Founded	1866
Named for	Abraham Lincoln [1]
Seat	North Platte
Largest city	North Platte
Area
• Total	2,575 sq mi (6,670 km2)
• Land	2,564 sq mi (6,640 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  0.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	34,676
• Density	13/sq mi (5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.co.lincoln.ne.us

Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,676. ^[2] Its county seat is North Platte. ^[3] Despite the county's name, the state capital city of Lincoln is not in or near Lincoln County. Lincoln County is one of the three counties in the North Platte Micropolitan Statistical Area. In the Nebraska license plate system, Lincoln County is represented by the prefix 15 (it had the fifteenth-largest number of vehicles registered for a state county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

Lincoln County is located in the Nebraska Sandhills, a region of mixed-grass prairie on grass-stabilized dunes. The land is generally given to agriculture, with considerable center pivot irrigation and cattle ranching. The North Platte River and the South Platte River flow eastward from Keith County, joining to form the Platte River east of the city of North Platte in central Lincoln County. The Platte then flows ESE out of the county. ^[4] The county has a total area of 2,575 square miles (6,670 km²), of which 2,564 square miles (6,640 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (0.4%) is water. ^[5] It is the third-largest county in Nebraska by area.

Most of Nebraska's 93 counties (the eastern 2/3, including Lincoln County) observe Central Time; the western counties observe Mountain Time. Lincoln County is the westernmost of the Nebraska counties to entirely observe Central Time. ^[6]

Major highways

• Interstate 80
• U.S. Highway 30
• U.S. Highway 83
• Nebraska Highway 23
• Nebraska Highway 25
• Nebraska Highway 97

Transit

• Burlington Trailways
• Express Arrow

Adjacent counties

• McPherson County – northwest
• Logan County – northeast
• Custer County – east
• Dawson County – east
• Frontier County – southeast
• Hayes County – southwest
• Perkins County – west (boundary of Mountain Time)
• Keith County – west (boundary of Mountain Time)

Protected areas

• Birdwood Lake State Wildlife Management Area ^[7]
• East Hershey State Wildlife Management Area ^[8]
• East Sutherland State Wildlife Management Area ^[9]
• Fort McPherson National Cemetery ^[10]
• Jeffrey Canyon State Wildlife Management Area ^[11]
• Maloney Reservoir State Recreation Area ^[12]
• Muskrat Run State Wildlife Management Area ^[13]
• Platte State Wildlife Management Area ^[14]
• Sutherland Reservoir State Recreation Area ^[15]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	17		—
1880	3,632		21,264.7%
1890	10,441		187.5%
1900	11,416		9.3%
1910	15,684		37.4%
1920	23,420		49.3%
1930	25,627		9.4%
1940	25,425		−0.8%
1950	27,380		7.7%
1960	28,491		4.1%
1970	29,538		3.7%
1980	36,455		23.4%
1990	32,508		−10.8%
2000	34,632		6.5%
2010	36,288		4.8%
2020	34,676		−4.4%
US Decennial Census [16] 1790-1960 [17] 1900-1990 [18] 1990-2000 [19] 2010-2013 [20]

As of the 2020 United States Census ^[21] there were 34,674 people and 14,485 households in the county. The population density was 13.46 people per square mile (5.20 people/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.6% White, 1.3% Black or African American, 1.3% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 1.8% from two or more races. 10% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the 2000 United States Census ^[21] there were 34,632 people, 14,076 households, and 9,444 families in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile (5.4 people/km²). There are 15,438 housing units in Lincoln: 6 units per square mile (2.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.70% White, 0.54% Black or African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.65% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. 5.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 14,076 households, out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.90% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.97.

The county population contained 26.20% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 26.60% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,568, and the median income for a family was $45,185. Males had a median income of $36,244 versus $20,252 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,696. About 7.20% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.10% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Rural highway in Lincoln County

City

• North Platte (county seat)

Villages

• Brady
• Hershey
• Maxwell
• Sutherland
• Wallace
• Wellfleet

Unincorporated communities

• Dickens
• Somerset

Politics

Lincoln County voters generally vote Republican. In only three national elections since 1916 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate, most recently in 1964 in the midst of Lyndon B. Johnson's national landslide victory.

United States presidential election results for Lincoln County, Nebraska ^{[22] [23]}

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	12,674	76.67%	3,586	21.69%	270	1.63%
2020	13,071	76.16%	3,692	21.51%	400	2.33%
2016	12,164	75.41%	2,913	18.06%	1,054	6.53%
2012	10,728	68.53%	4,450	28.43%	477	3.05%
2008	10,817	66.46%	5,046	31.00%	414	2.54%
2004	11,056	68.25%	4,905	30.28%	238	1.47%
2000	9,220	61.00%	5,205	34.44%	689	4.56%
1996	7,482	50.54%	5,165	34.89%	2,157	14.57%
1992	7,054	45.04%	5,158	32.94%	3,449	22.02%
1988	8,425	57.57%	6,118	41.81%	91	0.62%
1984	10,717	70.01%	4,509	29.46%	81	0.53%
1980	9,643	66.60%	3,768	26.02%	1,068	7.38%
1976	7,076	55.55%	5,355	42.04%	308	2.42%
1972	7,502	69.97%	3,220	30.03%	0	0.00%
1968	5,996	58.39%	3,491	34.00%	782	7.62%
1964	4,811	42.74%	6,446	57.26%	0	0.00%
1960	7,685	61.49%	4,812	38.51%	0	0.00%
1956	7,523	62.70%	4,475	37.30%	0	0.00%
1952	8,292	69.00%	3,726	31.00%	0	0.00%
1948	4,419	51.68%	4,131	48.32%	0	0.00%
1944	5,969	57.88%	4,344	42.12%	0	0.00%
1940	5,908	54.36%	4,960	45.64%	0	0.00%
1936	3,857	35.73%	6,742	62.45%	197	1.82%
1932	3,082	32.68%	6,047	64.12%	302	3.20%
1928	5,946	70.58%	2,381	28.26%	98	1.16%
1924	2,857	40.94%	1,373	19.67%	2,749	39.39%
1920	3,342	57.40%	1,896	32.57%	584	10.03%
1916	1,309	34.61%	2,192	57.96%	281	7.43%
1912	690	21.63%	1,129	35.39%	1,371	42.98%
1908	1,541	48.43%	1,382	43.43%	259	8.14%
1904	1,449	63.89%	328	14.46%	491	21.65%
1900	1,386	53.06%	1,169	44.75%	57	2.18%

Notable people

• Anne McGrew Bennett (1903–1986), writer and feminist

See also

• Lincoln County Sheriff's Office (Nebraska)
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln County, Nebraska

References

1. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Government Printing Office. p.  187.
2. "U.S. Census Bureau: Lincoln County, Nebraska". www.census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. Lincoln County NE Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
5. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
6. Map of Time Zone Line through Nebraska (accessed 22 January 2019)
7. Birdwood Lake State Wildlife Management Area, North Platte NE Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
8. East Hershey State Wildlife Management Area, North Platte NE Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
9. East Sutherland State Wildlife Management Area Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
10. Fort McPherson National Cemetery Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
11. Jeffrey Canyon State Wildlife Management Area, Brady NE Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
12. Maloney Reservoir State Recreation Area, North Platte NE Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
13. Muskrat Run State Wildlife Management Area, North Platte NE Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
14. Platte State Wildlife Management Area Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
15. Sutherland Reservoir State Recreation Area Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
16. "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
17. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
18. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
19. "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 9, 2014.
20. "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
21. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
22. Election Results
23. The leading "other" candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 911 votes, while Socialist candidate Eugene Debs received 400 votes and Prohibition Eugene Chafin received 60 votes.

41°03′N100°45′W / 41.05°N 100.75°W / 41.05; -100.75

Lincoln County, NE Map