List of counties in Nebraska

Counties of Nebraska
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Location	State of Nebraska
Number	93
Populations	383 (McPherson) – 589,540 (Douglas)
Areas	241 square miles (620 km2) (Sarpy) – 5,961 square miles (15,440 km2) (Cherry)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	cities, towns, townships, unincorporated communities, Indian reservations, census designated place

Nebraska has 93 counties. They are listed below by name, FIPS code and license plate prefix.

Nebraska's postal abbreviation is NE and its FIPS state code is 31.

When many counties were formed, the bills establishing them did not state the honoree's full name; thus the namesakes of several counties, including Brown, Deuel, Dixon, and possibly Harlan, are known only by their surnames.

County list

County	FIPS code	County seat	Est.	Origin	Etymology	License plate prefix	Population	Area	Map
Adams County	001	Hastings	1867	Unorganized territory	John Adams, second President of the United States	14	30,899	563 sq mi (1,458 km2)
Antelope County	003	Neligh	1871	Unorganized territory	Pronghorn, often called antelope	26	6,302	857 sq mi (2,220 km2)
Arthur County	005	Arthur	1913	Formed from McPherson County	Chester A. Arthur, twenty-first president of the United States	91	412	715 sq mi (1,852 km2)
Banner County	007	Harrisburg	1888	Formed from Cheyenne County	Early settlers' goal of making it the "banner county" of the state	85	674	746 sq mi (1,932 km2)
Blaine County	009	Brewster	1885	Unorganized territory	James G. Blaine, national politician	86	436	711 sq mi (1,841 km2)
Boone County	011	Albion	1871	Unorganized territory	Daniel Boone, American pioneer and trapper	23	5,310	687 sq mi (1,779 km2)
Box Butte County	013	Alliance	1887	Formed from Dawes County	A box-shaped butte north of Alliance	65	10,692	1,075 sq mi (2,784 km2)
Boyd County	015	Butte	1891	Holt County and unorganized territory (Indian Territory)	James E. Boyd, the eighth governor of Nebraska	63	1,725	540 sq mi (1,399 km2)
Brown County	017	Ainsworth	1883	Unorganized territory	The Brown family of early settlers	75	2,853	1,221 sq mi (3,162 km2)
Buffalo County	019	Kearney	1855	Unorganized territory	The American Bison	9	50,697	968 sq mi (2,507 km2)
Burt County	021	Tekamah	1854	One of nine original counties	Francis Burt, the first territorial governor	31	6,727	493 sq mi (1,277 km2)
Butler County	023	David City	1856	Formed from Greene County	William O. Butler, U.S. Congressman and military leader	25	8,459	584 sq mi (1,513 km2)
Cass County	025	Plattsmouth	1854	One of nine original counties	Lewis Cass, U.S. Senator who supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act	20	27,446	559 sq mi (1,448 km2)
Cedar County	027	Hartington	1857	Formed from Dixon and Pierce Counties	The eastern red cedar	13	8,262	740 sq mi (1,917 km2)
Chase County	029	Imperial	1873	Unorganized territory	Champion S. Chase, Nebraska's first attorney general	72	3,724	894 sq mi (2,315 km2)
Cherry County	031	Valentine	1883	Unorganized territory	Samuel A. Cherry, army lieutenant killed in the Indian Wars	66	5,492	5,961 sq mi (15,439 km2)
Cheyenne County	033	Sidney	1867	Unorganized territory	Named for the Cheyenne Indian tribe	39	9,541	1,196 sq mi (3,098 km2)
Clay County	035	Clay Center	1855	Formed from unorganized territory	Henry Clay, national politician	30	6,116	573 sq mi (1,484 km2)
Colfax County	037	Schuyler	1869	Formed from Platte County	Schuyler Colfax, Vice President of the United States	43	10,566	413 sq mi (1,070 km2)
Cuming County	039	West Point	1855	Formed from Burt County	Thomas B. Cuming, first territorial secretary	24	8,918	572 sq mi (1,481 km2)
Custer County	041	Broken Bow	1877	Unorganized territory	George Armstrong Custer, U.S. Army general	4	10,581	2,576 sq mi (6,672 km2)
Dakota County	043	Dakota City	1855	Formed from Burt County	Dakota branch of the Sioux Indian tribe	70	21,268	264 sq mi (684 km2)
Dawes County	045	Chadron	1885	Formed from Sioux County	James W. Dawes, the sixth governor of Nebraska	69	8,133	1,396 sq mi (3,616 km2)
Dawson County	047	Lexington	1860	Unorganized territory	Jacob Dawson, first postmaster for Lincoln	18	24,085	1,013 sq mi (2,624 km2)
Deuel County	049	Chappell	1888	Formed from Cheyenne County	The Deuel family of early settlers	78	1,871	440 sq mi (1,140 km2)
Dixon County	051	Ponca	1856	Formed from Blackbird County, Izard County, and unorganized territory	The Dixon family of early settlers	35	5,491	476 sq mi (1,233 km2)
Dodge County	053	Fremont	1854	One of nine original counties	Augustus Caesar Dodge, U.S. Senator who supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act	5	37,187	534 sq mi (1,383 km2)
Douglas County	055	Omaha	1854	One of nine original counties	Stephen Arnold Douglas, national politician	1	589,540	331 sq mi (857 km2)
Dundy County	057	Benkelman	1873	Unorganized territory	Elmer Scipio Dundy, U.S. Circuit Court judge	76	1,561	920 sq mi (2,383 km2)
Fillmore County	059	Geneva	1856	Formed from Jackson County and unorganized territory	Millard Fillmore, thirteenth president of the United States	34	5,548	576 sq mi (1,492 km2)
Franklin County	061	Franklin	1867	Formed from Kearney County	Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father	50	2,825	576 sq mi (1,492 km2)
Frontier County	063	Stockville	1872	Unorganized territory	Its location	60	2,585	975 sq mi (2,525 km2)
Furnas County	065	Beaver City	1873	Unorganized territory	Robert Wilkinson Furnas, third governor of Nebraska	38	4,556	718 sq mi (1,860 km2)
Gage County	067	Beatrice	1855	Unorganized territory	William D. Gage, contemporary chaplain of the state legislature	3	21,634	855 sq mi (2,214 km2)
Garden County	069	Oshkosh	1910	Formed from Deuel County	Early settlers' hopes for it to become the "garden spot of the west"	77	1,794	1,705 sq mi (4,416 km2)
Garfield County	071	Burwell	1884	Formed from Wheeler County	James Abram Garfield, twentieth president of the United States	83	1,763	570 sq mi (1,476 km2)
Gosper County	073	Elwood	1873	Unorganized territory	John J. Gosper, contemporary Nebraska secretary of state	73	1,847	458 sq mi (1,186 km2)
Grant County	075	Hyannis	1887	Unorganized territory	Ulysses S. Grant, eighteenth president of the United States	92	565	776 sq mi (2,010 km2)
Greeley County	077	Greeley	1871	Unorganized territory	Horace Greeley, journalist	62	2,219	570 sq mi (1,476 km2)
Hall County	079	Grand Island	1858	Unorganized territory	Augustus Hall, contemporary chief justice of the Territorial Supreme Court	8	62,197	546 sq mi (1,414 km2)
Hamilton County	081	Aurora	1867	Unorganized territory	Alexander Hamilton, first United States Secretary of the Treasury	28	9,537	544 sq mi (1,409 km2)
Harlan County	083	Alma	1871	Formed from Kearney County	Disputed; either James Harlan, national politician, or a local revenue collector	51	3,045	553 sq mi (1,432 km2)
Hayes County	085	Hayes Center	1877	Unorganized territory	Rutherford B. Hayes, nineteenth president of the United States	79	846	713 sq mi (1,847 km2)
Hitchcock County	087	Trenton	1873	Unorganized territory	Phineas Warren Hitchcock, Nebraska U.S. Senator	67	2,552	710 sq mi (1,839 km2)
Holt County	089	O'Neill	1860	Unorganized territory	Joseph Holt, U.S. Postmaster General and Secretary of War	36	10,093	2,413 sq mi (6,250 km2)
Hooker County	091	Mullen	1889	Unorganized territory	Joseph Hooker, U.S. Army general	93	679	721 sq mi (1,867 km2)
Howard County	093	Saint Paul	1871	Formed from Hall County	Oliver O. Howard, U.S. Army general	49	6,527	570 sq mi (1,476 km2)
Jefferson County	095	Fairbury	1856	Unorganized territory	Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States	33	7,054	573 sq mi (1,484 km2)
Johnson County	097	Tecumseh	1857	Formed from Nemaha and Otoe Counties	Richard Mentor Johnson, ninth vice president of the United States	57	5,198	376 sq mi (974 km2)
Kearney County	099	Minden	1860	Unorganized territory	Fort Kearny, with a misspelling	52	6,770	516 sq mi (1,336 km2)
Keith County	101	Ogallala	1873	Unorganized territory	M.C. Keith, rancher with wide holdings	68	8,113	1,061 sq mi (2,748 km2)
Keya Paha County	103	Springview	1884	Formed from Brown County and unorganized Indian territory	Dakota words Ké-ya Pa-há Wa-kpá (turtle hill river)	82	805	773 sq mi (2,002 km2)
Kimball County	105	Kimball	1888	Formed from Cheyenne County	Thomas L. Kimball, Union Pacific Railroad official	71	3,289	952 sq mi (2,466 km2)
Knox County	107	Center	1857	Formed from Pierce County and unorganized territory (Former names-L'Eau Qui Court (1857-1867) and Emmet (1867-1873))	Henry Knox, first U.S. Secretary of War	12	8,298	1,108 sq mi (2,870 km2)
Lancaster County	109	Lincoln	1855	Formed from Cass and Pierce Counties	Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Lancaster, England	2	326,716	839 sq mi (2,173 km2)
Lincoln County	111	North Platte	1860	Unorganized territory	Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of the United States	15	33,365	2,564 sq mi (6,641 km2)
Logan County	113	Stapleton	1885	Unorganized territory	John A. Logan, U.S. Army general	87	655	571 sq mi (1,479 km2)
Loup County	115	Taylor	1883	Unorganized territory	Loup River	88	592	570 sq mi (1,476 km2)
Madison County	119	Madison	1856	Formed from Loup County, and McNeale County, and unorganized territory	Either James Madison, fourth president of the United States, or local settlers' native Madison, Wisconsin	7	35,627	573 sq mi (1,484 km2)
McPherson County	117	Tryon	1887	Formed from Logan County	James B. McPherson, U.S. Army general	90	383	859 sq mi (2,225 km2)
Merrick County	121	Central City	1858	Formed from Polk County and unorganized territory	Elvira Merrick, wife of legislator Henry W. DePuy	46	7,755	485 sq mi (1,256 km2)
Morrill County	123	Bridgeport	1908	Formed from Cheyenne County	Charles Henry Morrill, president of the Lincoln Land Company	64	4,504	1,424 sq mi (3,688 km2)
Nance County	125	Fullerton	1879	Formed from a Pawnee Indian reservation	Albinus Nance, fourth governor of Nebraska	58	3,274	441 sq mi (1,142 km2)
Nemaha County	127	Auburn	1854	One of nine original counties	Nimaha, the Otoe name meaning miry water for a local stream	44	7,076	409 sq mi (1,059 km2)
Nuckolls County	129	Nelson	1860	Unorganized territory	Lafayette Nuckolls, a member of the first Nebraska territorial legislature; and his brother, Stephen Nuckolls, a pioneering Nebraska settler, businessman and banker	42	4,095	575 sq mi (1,489 km2)
Otoe County	131	Nebraska City	1854	One of nine original counties	Oto (also Otoe) Native American tribe	11	16,335	616 sq mi (1,595 km2)
Pawnee County	133	Pawnee City	1855	Formed from Richardson County	Pawnee Native American tribe	54	2,512	432 sq mi (1,119 km2)
Perkins County	135	Grant	1887	Formed from Keith County	Charles E. Perkins, a president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad	74	2,795	883 sq mi (2,287 km2)
Phelps County	137	Holdrege	1873	Formed from Kearney County	William Phelps, an early settler	37	9,057	540 sq mi (1,399 km2)
Pierce County	139	Pierce	1856	Formed from Izard County, McNeale County, and unorganized territory	Franklin Pierce, the fourteenth president of the United States	40	7,299	574 sq mi (1,487 km2)
Platte County	141	Columbus	1856	Formed from Greene and Loup Counties	Platte River which is in turn named for the French word for flat	10	34,609	678 sq mi (1,756 km2)
Polk County	143	Osceola	1856	Formed from York County and unorganized territory	James Knox Polk, the eleventh president of the United States	41	5,228	439 sq mi (1,137 km2)
Red Willow County	145	McCook	1873	Unorganized territory	Red Willow Creek, which runs through the area	48	10,457	717 sq mi (1,857 km2)
Richardson County	147	Falls City	1854	One of nine original counties	William A. Richardson, a governor of the Nebraska Territory	19	7,689	554 sq mi (1,435 km2)
Rock County	149	Bassett	1885	Formed from Brown County	Either Rock Creek, which flows in the county; or the rocky condition of the soil in the area	81	1,271	1,008 sq mi (2,611 km2)
Saline County	151	Wilber	1867	Unorganized territory	Named for a belief held by the early pioneers that great salt springs and deposits could be found in the area, a hope found to be false	22	14,555	575 sq mi (1,489 km2)
Sarpy County	153	Papillion	1857	Formed from Cass and Douglas Counties	Peter A. Sarpy, a commander of a trading post in the future county	59	199,886	241 sq mi (624 km2)
Saunders County	155	Wahoo	1856	Formed from Douglas and Lancaster Counties	Alvin Saunders, a governor of the Nebraska Territory	6	23,463	754 sq mi (1,953 km2)
Scotts Bluff County	157	Gering	1888	Formed from Cheyenne County	Named for a towering bluff located in the Scotts Bluff National Monument; the bluffs themselves are named for Hiram Scott, a fur trapper who is alleged to have crawled 75 miles with a broken leg before collapsing and dying at the foot of the formation	21	35,699	739 sq mi (1,914 km2)
Seward County	159	Seward	1855	Formed from Cass and Pierce Counties	William Henry Seward, the United States Secretary of State during the 1860s	16	17,671	575 sq mi (1,489 km2)
Sheridan County	161	Rushville	1885	Formed from Sioux County	Philip Henry Sheridan, a general in the American Civil War	61	4,928	2,441 sq mi (6,322 km2)
Sherman County	163	Loup City	1871	Formed from Buffalo County and unorganized territory	William Tecumseh Sherman, the American Civil War general	56	2,983	566 sq mi (1,466 km2)
Sioux County	165	Harrison	1877	Unorganized territory	Sioux Native American tribe	80	1,154	1,313 sq mi (3,401 km2)
Stanton County	167	Stanton	1855	Formed from Burt County	Edwin M. Stanton, the United States Secretary of War during most of the American Civil War	53	5,856	430 sq mi (1,114 km2)
Thayer County	169	Hebron	1871	Formed from Jefferson County	John Milton Thayer, the seventh governor of Nebraska	32	4,829	575 sq mi (1,489 km2)
Thomas County	171	Thedford	1887	Unorganized territory	George Henry Thomas, a general in the American Civil War	89	677	713 sq mi (1,847 km2)
Thurston County	173	Pender	1889	Formed from Blackbird County and an Omaha Indian reservation	John Mellen Thurston, a U. S. senator from Nebraska	55	6,557	394 sq mi (1,020 km2)
Valley County	175	Ord	1871	Unorganized territory	Named for the many valleys in the area	47	4,012	568 sq mi (1,471 km2)
Washington County	177	Blair	1854	One of nine original counties	George Washington, the first president of the United States	29	21,152	390 sq mi (1,010 km2)
Wayne County	179	Wayne	1867	Unorganized territory	Anthony Wayne, the American Revolutionary War general nicknamed "Mad Anthony" by his troops	27	9,874	444 sq mi (1,150 km2)
Webster County	181	Red Cloud	1867	Unorganized territory	Daniel Webster, the statesman and U.S. Senator from Massachusetts	45	3,351	575 sq mi (1,489 km2)
Wheeler County	183	Bartlett	1877	Unorganized territory	Daniel H. Wheeler, a secretary of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture	84	775	575 sq mi (1,489 km2)
York County	185	York	1855	Formed from Cass County, Pierce County, and unorganized territory	Named for either York, England, or York County, Pennsylvania	17	14,356	576 sq mi (1,492 km2)

Former counties

• Clay (1855-1864) Formed from unorganized territory and dissolved into Gage and Lancaster County.
• Jackson (1855-1856) Formed from unorganized territory and dissolved to Fillmore County and unorganized territory
• Johnson (1855-1856) Formed from unorganized territory and dissolved to unorganized territory
• Blackbird (1855-1888) Formed from Burt County and dissolved to Thurston County
• Loup (1855-1856) Formed from Burt and Un-Organized and then dissolved Madison, Monroe and Platte Counties
• Jones (1856-1866) Formed from unorganized territory and dissolved into Jefferson County.
• Grant, Harrison, Jackson, Lynn, Monroe and Taylor counties listed in 1870 - see map
• West (1860-1862) Formed from unorganized territory and dissolved into Holt County

Further reading

• writer, Statf (2022). "NEBRASKA COUNTY GOVERNMENT OVERVIEW" (PDF). ce.naco.org. National Association of Counties (NACo). Retrieved January 3, 2025.