Kearney County, Nebraska

• White (non-Hispanic) 6,094 90.8%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 459 6.8%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 1 0.0%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 36 0.5%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 103 1.5%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 16 0.2%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 4 0.1%

• Under 18 1,663 24.8%
• 18–24 417 6.2%
• 25–44 1,602 23.9%
• 45–64 1,652 24.6%
• 65 and over 1,379 20.5%

Median household income

$82,540

90% interval $73,045–$92,035

+$5,962 vs NE · 8th of 93

Below poverty line

7.8%

90% interval 5.8%–9.8%

−2.8 pp vs NE · 86th of 93

Unemployment (12-mo)

2.5%

−0.53 pp vs. state

County GDP

$618.2M

0.33% of state

Avg. annual pay

$52,216

Establishments

213

• Education & health services 634 30.8%
• Manufacturing 338 16.4%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 326 15.8%
• Natural resources & mining 188 9.1%
• Public administration 120 5.8%
• Construction 117 5.7%
• Leisure & hospitality 116 5.6%
• Financial activities 79 3.8%

The sectors listed cover 93.1% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

77.5%

+11.0 pp vs NE · 35th of 93

Median gross rent

$857

−$215 vs NE · 33rd of 93

Owner-occupied

2,180

Renter-occupied

634

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 63% 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 (Construction, $66,875/yr) pays 3.9× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $17,180/yr). Expect meaningful income variation across the panel.

• Small-business scale

  Average establishment employs only 9.7 workers, a small-business-dominated local economy. Expect more self-employed and small-business-owner panelists than in institutional-employer venues.

• Republican 2,828 78.5%
• Democratic 736 20.4%
• Other / third-party 40 1.1%

• Spanish 342 5.4%
• German or other West Germanic 12 0.2%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 8 0.1%

Households

2,814

Family households

1,923

68.3% of households

Married couples w/ children

582

30.3% of families

Single-mother families

204

10.6% of families

Veterans

338

6.7% of civilians 18+

• Mainline Protestant 1,909 28.5%
• Evangelical Protestant 835 12.5%
• Catholic 618 9.2%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 2 0.0%

Health insured

93.9%

±1.8 pp

Uninsured

6.1%

±1.8 pp

57th of 93

With a disability

9.5%

±1.7 pp

91st of 93

Bachelor's or higher

34.5%

±3.9 pp

−0.1 pp vs NE · 7th of 93

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

5.7%

90% interval 4.9%–6.5% · Census SAHIE

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

Trial court

10th Judicial District Court

Judges

3 (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

Alma, Clay Center, Franklin, Hastings, Holdrege, Minden, Nelson, Red Cloud

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

3

59.41 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

2