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. Its county seat is North Platte. 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 Statistical Area.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Lincoln County is represented by the prefix 15 (it had the fifteenth-largest number of vehicles registered for a state county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

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. The county has a total area of 2575 sqmi, of which 2564 sqmi is land and 11 sqmi (0.4%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Nebraska by 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 observe Central Time.

Major highways

 * I-80.svg Interstate 80
 * US 30.svg U.S. Highway 30
 * US 83.svg U.S. Highway 83
 * N-23.svg Nebraska Highway 23
 * N-25.svg Nebraska Highway 25
 * N-97.svg 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 2020 United States Census there were 34,674 people and 14,485 households in the county. The population density was 13.46 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 94.6% White, 1.3% Black or African American, 1.3% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 1.8% from two or more races. 10% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 34,632 people, 14,076 households, and 9,444 families in the county. The population density was 14 /mi2. There are 15,438 housing units in Lincoln: 6 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 94.70% White, 0.54% Black or African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.65% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. 5.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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.

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.

Notable people

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