Polk County, Nebraska

• White (non-Hispanic) 4,709 90.1%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 330 6.3%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 10 0.2%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 11 0.2%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 151 2.9%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 6 0.1%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 8 0.2%

• Under 18 1,165 22.3%
• 18–24 381 7.3%
• 25–44 1,100 21.1%
• 45–64 1,368 26.2%
• 65 and over 1,211 23.2%

Median household income

$76,692

90% interval $68,831–$84,553

+$114 vs NE · 19th of 93

Below poverty line

8.0%

90% interval 6.2%–9.8%

−2.6 pp vs NE · 83rd of 93

Unemployment (12-mo)

2.6%

−0.42 pp vs. state

County GDP

$467.1M

0.25% of state

Avg. annual pay

$49,490

Establishments

163

• Education & health services 544 38.4%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 346 24.4%
• Natural resources & mining 195 13.8%
• Public administration 125 8.8%
• Financial activities 47 3.3%
• Leisure & hospitality 33 2.3%

The sectors listed cover 91.0% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

78.9%

+12.4 pp vs NE · 26th of 93

Median gross rent

$681

−$391 vs NE · 75th of 93

Owner-occupied

1,669

Renter-occupied

445

• Concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 77% of the county workforce. Most panelists likely share employer relationships within these sectors, surface those connections early in voir dire before any institutional-defendant or sector-specific framing.

• Wide wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Financial activities, $76,088/yr) pays 5.6× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $13,585/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.

• Small-business scale

  Average establishment employs only 8.7 workers, a small-business-dominated local economy. Expect more self-employed and small-business-owner panelists than in institutional-employer venues.

• Republican 2,296 81.4%
• Democratic 501 17.8%
• Other / third-party 22 0.8%

• Spanish 197 4.0%
• German or other West Germanic 23 0.5%
• Chinese 21 0.4%
• Arabic 11 0.2%

Households

2,114

Family households

1,395

66.0% of households

Married couples w/ children

441

31.6% of families

Single-mother families

64

4.6% of families

Veterans

301

7.4% of civilians 18+

• Mainline Protestant 1,350 25.9%
• Catholic 854 16.4%
• Evangelical Protestant 479 9.2%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 1 0.0%

Health insured

94.5%

±1.5 pp

Uninsured

5.5%

±1.5 pp

72nd of 93

With a disability

11.7%

±1.7 pp

71st of 93

Bachelor's or higher

20.0%

±2.7 pp

−14.6 pp vs NE · 82nd of 93

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

7.9%

90% interval 7.0%–8.8% · Census SAHIE

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

Trial court

5th 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

Albion, Aurora, Central City, Columbus, David City, Fullerton, Osceola, Schuyler, Seward, Wahoo, York

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

1

24.63 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

1