Colfax County, Nebraska

Colfax County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,582, and was estimated to be 10,934 in 2025.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Colfax County was represented by the prefix "43" (as it had the 43rd-largest number of vehicles registered in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

The county and its seat are named after US Vice President (1869–1873) Schuyler Colfax.

Colfax County was created by the Nebraska legislature on February 15, 1869, as part of the division of Platte County into three parts. The new county was named for Schuyler Colfax, then the vice-president of the United States. The site of Shell Creek Station on the Union Pacific Railroad was chosen as the county seat, and renamed Schuyler also after Colfax. Schuyler was incorporated in 1870, and the county's first courthouse was constructed in 1872.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.21%) is water. It is the 86th-largest county in Nebraska by total area.

Major highways

20px U.S. Highway 30
20px Nebraska Highway 15
20px Nebraska Highway 57
20px Nebraska Highway 91

Transit

Express Arrow

Adjacent counties

Dodge County – east
Butler County – south
Platte County – west
Stanton County – north
Cuming County – northeast

Demographics

As of the third quarter of 2025, the median home value in Colfax County was $143,696.

As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 3,707 estimated households in Colfax County with an average of 2.85 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $82,530. Approximately 6.9% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Colfax County has an estimated 69.1% employment rate, with 14.8% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 79.4% holding a high school diploma. !! Pop. 1990 !! Pop. 2000 !! Pop. 2010 !!

| White alone (NH)

| 9,791 (99.00%) || 8,878 (97.14%) || 7,617 (72.95%) || 6,031 (57.36%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |5,018 (47.42%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 2 (0.02%) || 3 (0.03%) || 5 (0.05%) || 49 (0.47%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |375 (3.54%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 7 (0.07%) || 26 (0.28%) || 17 (0.16%) || 33 (0.31%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |26 (0.25%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 5 (0.05%) || 7 (0.08%) || 14 (0.13%) || 24 (0.23%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |50 (0.47%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 3 (0.03%) || 4 (0.04%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2 (0.02%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 6 (0.06%) || 1 (0.01%) || 11 (0.11%) || 17 (0.16%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |16 (0.15%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 42 (0.40%) || 42 (0.40%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |102 (0.96%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 79 (0.80%) || 224 (2.45%) || 2,732 (26.17%) || 4,315 (41.04%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |4,993 (47.18%)

| Total

| 9,890 (100.00%) || 9,139 (100.00%) || 10,441 (100.00%) || 10,515 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |10,582 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 10,826 people, 3,707 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 3,997 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 84.3% White (43.4% NH White), 7.5% African American, 4.0% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.7% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 48.3% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 10,582 people, 3,615 households, and 2,619 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 3,976 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 55.18% White, 3.57% African American, 2.84% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 28.17% from some other races and 9.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 47.18% of the population.

The median age was 34.5 years. 30.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 104.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 107.6 males age 18 and over.

61.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 38.4% lived in rural areas.

There were 3,615 households in the county, of which 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 19.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 3,976 housing units, of which 9.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 72.2% were owner-occupied and 27.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.1%.

Communities

Cities

Clarkson
Schuyler (county seat)

Villages

Howells
Leigh
Richland
Rogers

Politics

Colfax County voters are reliably Republican. In only one national election since 1936 did the county select the Democratic Party candidate.

Education

School districts include:

North Bend Central Public Schools #595, North Bend
Howells–Dodge Consolidated Schools #70, Howells
Clarkson Public Schools #58, Clarkson
Leigh Community Schools #39, Leigh
Schuyler Community Schools #123, Schuyler