Lincoln County, Nebraska

Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,676, and was estimated to be 33,303 in 2025.

Despite the county's name, the state capital city of Lincoln is not in or near Lincoln County.

Lincoln County is one of the three counties in the North Platte micropolitan area.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Lincoln County was represented by the prefix "15" (as it had the 15th-largest number of vehicles registered in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Lincoln County was created on January 7, 1860; it was named for Abraham Lincoln.

Geography

Lincoln County is located in the Nebraska Sandhills, a region of mixed-grass prairie on grass-stabilized dunes. The land is generally given to agriculture, with considerable center pivot irrigation and cattle ranching. The North Platte River and the South Platte River flow eastward from Keith County, joining to form the Platte River east of the city of North Platte in central Lincoln County. The Platte then flows ESE out of the county.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.43%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Nebraska by total area.

Most of Nebraska's 93 counties (the eastern 2/3, including Lincoln County) observe Central Time; the western counties observe Mountain Time. Lincoln County is the westernmost of the Nebraska counties to entirely observe Central Time.

Major highways

20px Interstate 80
20px U.S. Highway 30
20px U.S. Highway 83
20px Nebraska Highway 23
20px Nebraska Highway 25
20px Nebraska Highway 97

Transit

Burlington Trailways
Express Arrow

Adjacent counties

McPherson County – northwest
Logan County – northeast
Custer County – east
Dawson County – east
Frontier County – southeast
Hayes County – southwest
Perkins County – west (boundary of Mountain Time)
Keith County – west (boundary of Mountain Time)

Protected areas

Birdwood Lake State Wildlife Management Area
East Hershey State Wildlife Management Area
East Sutherland State Wildlife Management Area
Fort McPherson National Cemetery
Jeffrey Canyon State Wildlife Management Area
Maloney Reservoir State Recreation Area
Muskrat Run State Wildlife Management Area
Platte State Wildlife Management Area
Sutherland Reservoir State Recreation Area

Demographics

As of the third quarter of 2025, the median home value in Lincoln County was $204,276.

As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 14,890 estimated households in Lincoln County with an average of 2.23 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $65,148. Approximately 12.4% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Lincoln County has an estimated 62.2% employment rate, with 22.7% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.2% holding a high school diploma. !! Pop. 1990 !! Pop. 2000 !! Pop. 2010 !!

| White alone (NH)

| 34,597 (94.90%) || 30,561 (94.01%) || 32,072 (92.61%) || 32,741 (90.23%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |29,643 (85.49%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 98 (0.27%) || 90 (0.28%) || 179 (0.52%) || 235 (0.65%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |382 (1.10%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 92 (0.25%) || 108 (0.33%) || 137 (0.40%) || 162 (0.45%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |147 (0.42%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 138 (0.38%) || 111 (0.34%) || 129 (0.37%) || 192 (0.53%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |325 (0.94%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 2 (0.01%) || 5 (0.01%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |6 (0.02%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 11 (0.03%) || 15 (0.05%) || 5 (0.01%) || 19 (0.05%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |111 (0.32%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 228 (0.66%) || 332 (0.91%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1,051 (3.03%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 1,519 (4.17%) || 1,623 (4.99%) || 1,880 (5.43%) || 2,602 (7.17%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |3,011 (8.68%)

| Total

| 36,455 (100.00%) || 32,508 (100.00%) || 34,632 (100.00%) || 36,288 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |34,676 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 33,319 people, 14,890 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 16,624 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.9% White (85.8% NH White), 1.5% African American, 1.3% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 9.7% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 34,676 people, 14,683 households, and 9,208 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 16,526 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.47% White, 1.23% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.71% from some other races and 6.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 8.68% of the population.

There were 14,683 households in the county, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 24.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The median age was 41.4 years. 23.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.9 males age 18 and over. Among occupied housing units, 68.0% were owner-occupied and 32.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.7%. 68.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 32.0% lived in rural areas.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 36,288 people, 15,025 households, and 10,116 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 16,583 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.33% White, 0.72% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.35% from some other races and 1.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.17% of the population.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 34,632 people, 14,076 households, and 9,444 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,438 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.70% White, 0.54% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.65% from some other races and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.43% of the population.

There were 14,076 households, out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.90% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.97.

The county population contained 26.20% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 26.60% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,568, and the median income for a family was $45,185. Males had a median income of $36,244 versus $20,252 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,696. About 7.20% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.10% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

thumb|Rural highway in Lincoln County

City

North Platte (county seat)

Villages

Brady
Hershey
Maxwell
Sutherland
Wallace
Wellfleet

Unincorporated communities

Dickens
Somerset

Politics

Lincoln County voters generally vote Republican. In only three national elections since 1916 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate, most recently in 1964 in the midst of Lyndon B. Johnson's national landslide victory.

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" |Political Party

! Number of registered voters (April 1, 2026)

! Percent

| Republican

| 14,543

| 63.01%

| Independent

| 4,272

| 18.51%

| Democratic

| 3,764

| 16.31%

| Libertarian

| 327

| 1.42%

| Legal Marijuana Now

| 174

| 0.75%

! colspan="2" |Total

! 23,080

! 100.00%

Notable people

Anne McGrew Bennett (1903–1986), writer and feminist

Education

School districts include:

Arnold Public Schools #89, Arnold
Brady Public Schools #6, Brady
Eustis-Farnam Public Schools #95, Eustis
Gothenburg Public Schools #20, Gothenburg
Hershey Public Schools #37, Hershey
Maxwell Public Schools #7, Maxwell
Maywood Public Schools #46, Maywood
McPherson County Schools #90, Tryon
Medicine Valley Public Schools #125, Curtis
North Platte Public Schools #1, North Platte
Paxton Consolidated Schools #6, Paxton
Perkins County Schools #20, Grant
Stapleton Public Schools #501, Stapleton
Sutherland Public Schools #55, Sutherland
Wallace Public School District #565, Wallace