McPherson County, Nebraska

McPherson County
County
McPherson County Courthouse in Tryon
Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°34′N101°04′W / 41.57°N 101.06°W / 41.57; -101.06
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Founded	1890
Named for	James B. McPherson
Seat	Tryon
Largest community	Tryon
Area
• Total	860 sq mi (2,200 km2)
• Land	859 sq mi (2,220 km2)
• Water	1.0 sq mi (3 km2)  0.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	399
• Density	0.46/sq mi (0.18/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.mcphersoncounty.ne.gov

McPherson County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 399, ^[1] making it the least populous county in the state of Nebraska and the fifth-least populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Tryon. ^[2] The county was formed in 1890 from Logan County; it was named for American Civil War General James B. McPherson. ^[3]

In 1913, a portion of McPherson County was partitioned off to create Arthur County, giving McPherson County its present boundaries.

McPherson County is part of the North Platte, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area.

In the Nebraska license plate system, McPherson County is represented by the prefix 90 (it ranked 90th of 93 counties in the number of vehicles registered when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

The terrain of McPherson County consists of low rolling hills sloping to the south-southeast. A small portion of the area is under center pivot irrigation. ^[4] The county has a total area of 860 square miles (2,200 km²), of which 859 square miles (2,220 km²) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km²) (0.1%) is water. ^[5]

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

Adjacent counties

• Hooker County - north
• Thomas County - northeast
• Logan County - east
• Lincoln County - southeast
• Keith County - southwest (boundary of Mountain Time)
• Arthur County - west (boundary of Mountain Time)

Major highways

• Nebraska Highway 92
• Nebraska Highway 97

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	401		—
1900	517		28.9%
1910	2,470		377.8%
1920	1,692		−31.5%
1930	1,358		−19.7%
1940	1,175		−13.5%
1950	825		−29.8%
1960	735		−10.9%
1970	623		−15.2%
1980	593		−4.8%
1990	546		−7.9%
2000	533		−2.4%
2010	539		1.1%
2020	399		−26.0%
US Decennial Census [7] 1790-1960 [8] 1900-1990 [9] 1990-2000 [10] 2010-2013 [11] 2020 [12]

As of the 2000 United States Census, ^[13] there were 533 people, 202 households, and 157 families in the county. The population density was 0.6 people per square mile (0.23 people/km²). There were 283 housing units at an average density of 0.3 units per square mile (0.12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.94% White, 0.38% Asian, 1.69% from other races. 1.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 44.4% were of German, 14.4% American, 9.2% Irish, 8.7% Swedish and 6.3% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 202 households, out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.80% were married couples living together, 3.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.80% were non-families. 19.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.01.

The county population contained 27.60% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 18.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,750, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $25,192 versus $13,393 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,055. 16.20% of the population and 14.00% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 21.70% are under the age of 18 and 17.30% are 65 or older.

Communities

Census-designated place

• Tryon (county seat)

Unincorporated community

• Ringgold

Former communities

• Flats ^[14]

Politics

McPherson County voters have been strongly Republican since the beginning. In only two national elections since 1900 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024). In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton had the worst showing for a major party Presidential candidate in the county's history, tallying just 14 votes for only 4.9%. She had accumulated fewer votes than any third-party or write-in votes, making it the only county in Nebraska for this to happen. In 2024, Democrat Kamala Harris performed even worse than Clinton, receiving only 12 votes or 4.2%.

United States presidential election results for McPherson County, Nebraska ^{[15] [16]}

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	267	94.01%	12	4.23%	5	1.76%
2020	275	91.06%	17	5.63%	10	3.31%
2016	257	89.55%	14	4.88%	16	5.57%
2012	237	81.44%	41	14.09%	13	4.47%
2008	240	81.91%	45	15.36%	8	2.73%
2004	259	83.01%	49	15.71%	4	1.28%
2000	244	81.06%	48	15.95%	9	2.99%
1996	233	72.36%	50	15.53%	39	12.11%
1992	217	65.96%	49	14.89%	63	19.15%
1988	229	78.42%	60	20.55%	3	1.03%
1984	295	82.87%	57	16.01%	4	1.12%
1980	285	83.09%	49	14.29%	9	2.62%
1976	221	66.37%	104	31.23%	8	2.40%
1972	247	85.47%	42	14.53%	0	0.00%
1968	236	76.13%	40	12.90%	34	10.97%
1964	219	67.80%	104	32.20%	0	0.00%
1960	303	81.89%	67	18.11%	0	0.00%
1956	281	74.14%	98	25.86%	0	0.00%
1952	355	87.01%	53	12.99%	0	0.00%
1948	209	68.08%	98	31.92%	0	0.00%
1944	310	72.43%	118	27.57%	0	0.00%
1940	414	71.63%	164	28.37%	0	0.00%
1936	326	55.82%	250	42.81%	8	1.37%
1932	291	43.50%	367	54.86%	11	1.64%
1928	419	84.31%	69	13.88%	9	1.81%
1924	213	40.34%	96	18.18%	219	41.48%
1920	229	70.03%	75	22.94%	23	7.03%
1916	106	33.33%	184	57.86%	28	8.81%
1912	114	19.76%	180	31.20%	283	49.05%
1908	234	54.67%	165	38.55%	29	6.78%
1904	108	80.60%	12	8.96%	14	10.45%
1900	85	59.86%	54	38.03%	3	2.11%

References

1. Bureau, US Census. "2020 Population and Housing State Data". The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 15, 2021.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Government Printing Office. p. 195.
4. McPherson 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. "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
9. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
10. "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.
11. "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
12. "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
13. "U.S. Census website". US Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
14. Flats NE Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
15. Election Results
16. The leading "other" candidate, Progressive Bob La Follette, received 207 votes, while Prohibition candidate Herman P. Faris received 12 votes.

41°34′N101°04′W / 41.57°N 101.06°W / 41.57; -101.06