Buffalo County, Nebraska

• White (non-Hispanic) 42,362 83.8%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 5,385 10.6%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 392 0.8%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 822 1.6%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 1,195 2.4%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 103 0.2%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 76 0.2%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 244 0.5%

• Under 18 11,492 22.7%
• 18–24 7,350 14.5%
• 25–44 12,787 25.3%
• 45–64 10,556 20.9%
• 65 and over 8,394 16.6%

Median household income

$75,364

90% interval $68,014–$82,714

−$1,214 vs NE · 24th of 93

Below poverty line

8.7%

90% interval 6.6%–10.8%

−1.9 pp vs NE · 75th of 93

Unemployment (12-mo)

2.5%

−0.53 pp vs. state

County GDP

$4.5B

2.36% of state

Avg. annual pay

$53,848

Establishments

1,890

• Education & health services 7,587 27.0%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 5,638 20.0%
• Leisure & hospitality 3,509 12.5%
• Manufacturing 3,398 12.1%
• Professional & business services 2,637 9.4%
• Construction 1,459 5.2%
• Public administration 1,335 4.7%
• Other services 1,031 3.7%
• Financial activities 893 3.2%
• Natural resources & mining 469 1.7%
• Information 176 0.6%

Home ownership

66.4%

−0.1 pp vs NE · 78th of 93

Median gross rent

$936

−$136 vs NE · 13th of 93

Owner-occupied

13,269

Renter-occupied

6,715

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 59% of the county workforce. Substantial intra-sector overlap among panelists is likely; confirm employer relationships before sector-specific framing.

• Moderate wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Financial activities, $71,859/yr) pays 3.3× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $21,766/yr). Expect meaningful income variation across the panel.

• Mixed business scale

  Average establishment employs 15 workers, a mix of institutional employers and small businesses. Both employed-by-large-institution and small-business-owner perspectives are likely on the panel.

• Republican 17,064 71.8%
• Democratic 6,386 26.9%
• Other / third-party 309 1.3%

• Spanish 2,895 6.1%
• Chinese 354 0.7%
• German or other West Germanic 226 0.5%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 112 0.2%
• Vietnamese 71 0.1%
• Korean 35 0.1%
• Arabic 28 0.1%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 16 0.0%

Households

19,984

Family households

11,752

58.8% of households

Married couples w/ children

3,598

30.6% of families

Single-mother families

1,285

10.9% of families

Veterans

2,349

6% of civilians 18+

• Catholic 9,833 19.6%
• Mainline Protestant 8,107 16.2%
• Evangelical Protestant 7,350 14.7%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 657 1.3%
• Orthodox 100 0.2%

Health insured

93.0%

±1.2 pp

Uninsured

7.0%

±1.2 pp

41st of 93

With a disability

12.4%

±1.1 pp

67th of 93

Bachelor's or higher

34.4%

±2.4 pp

−0.2 pp vs NE · 8th of 93

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

7.6%

90% interval 6.7%–8.5% · Census SAHIE

The under-65 uninsured rate is not comparable to the ACS insurance figures, which cover all ages.

Trial court

9th Judicial District Court

Judges

4 (District Court judges per judicial district (general civil + criminal jurisdiction); County Court judges (limited jurisdiction: small civil claims, misdemeanors, probate) separate. Vintage 2026 nebraskajudicial.gov; counts cross-checked against Neb. Rev. Stat. § 24-303 et seq. ~60 District Court judgeships statewide. The 4th JD (Douglas / Omaha) and 3rd JD (Lancaster / Lincoln) carry the largest benches; multi-county rural districts typically carry 2-4 judges.)

Court seats

Grand Island, Kearney

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

9

23.03 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

9