Buffalo County, Nebraska facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Buffalo County
U.S. county
Buffalo County Courthouse in Kearney
Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Founded	1855 (authorized) 1870 (organized)
Named for	American bison
Seat	Kearney
Largest city	Kearney
Area
• Total	975 sq mi (2,530 km2)
• Land	968 sq mi (2,510 km2)
• Water	7.3 sq mi (19 km2)  0.7%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	50,084
• Density	51.368/sq mi (19.833/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Buffalo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 50,084, making it Nebraska's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Kearney. The county was created in 1855 and was organized in 1870. It was named after the once-prevalent bison herds of the Great Plains.

Buffalo County is part of the Kearney Micropolitan Statistical Area.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Buffalo County is represented by the prefix 9; when the license plate system was established in 1922, the county ranked ninth in number of registered vehicles.

History

The Union Pacific Railroad came to the area in 1866; with additional settlers, the need to establish government was realized. Patrick Walsh, Martin Slattery, and a Sergeant Cody petitioned the governor to organize Buffalo County in 1869. Wood River Centre (Shelton) was selected through election as county seat. Within a year, the seat was moved to Gibbon. In 1874, voters selected Kearney as the seat.

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Watson Ranch, existed in the county. The 8,000 acre ranch extended from the Platte River Valley on the south, to Nebraska's rolling hills on the north, to a point five miles west of downtown Kearney.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of 975 square miles (2,530 km²), of which 968 square miles (2,510 km²) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km²) (0.7%) is water.

Major highways

Transit

• Burlington Trailways
• Express Arrow

Protected area

• Fort Kearny State Historical Park

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 Census

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 50,084 people in the county. The population density was 51 inhabitants per square mile (20/km²) . The racial makeup of the county was 85.5% White, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 1.7% from two or more races. 10.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race

Communities

Map of Buffalo County

Cities

• Gibbon
• Kearney (county seat)
• Ravenna

Villages

Census-designated places

• Glenwood
• Odessa
• Poole

Unincorporated communities

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Buffalo (Nebraska) para niños