Hayes County, Nebraska

Hayes County
Hayes County
County
	Hayes County courthouse in Hayes Center
	Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
	Nebraska's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 40°32′N 101°04′W / 40.53°N 101.06°W
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Founded	1877 (founded); February 19, 1884 (organized)
Named for	Rutherford B. Hayes
Seat	Hayes Center
Largest village	Palisade
Area
• Total	713 sq mi (1,850 km2)
• Land	713 sq mi (1,850 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2) 0.03%
Population (2020)
• Total	856
• Density	1.2/sq mi (0.46/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.hayescounty.ne.gov

Hayes County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 856.^[1] Its county seat is Hayes Center.^[2] The county was created in 1877, and was organized in 1884.^[3]^[4]^[5] It was named for Rutherford B. Hayes, the US President at the time of the county's creation.^[6]

In the Nebraska license plate system, Hayes County is represented by the prefix 79 (it had the seventy-ninth-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

The terrain of Hayes County is hilly. The flattened hilltops are largely used for center pivot irrigation. Small creeks and streams drain the upper elevations; the largest is Red Willow Creek, which drains to Hugh Butler Lake just east of the SE corner of Hayes County, in Frontier County.^[7] The county has a total area of 713 square miles (1,850 km²), of which 713 square miles (1,850 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) (0.03%) is water.^[8]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Frontier County – east
Hitchcock County – south
Dundy County – southwest
Chase County – west
Perkins County – northwest
Lincoln County – north

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	119	—
1890	3,953	3,221.8%
1900	2,708	−31.5%
1910	3,011	11.2%
1920	3,327	10.5%
1930	3,603	8.3%
1940	2,958	−17.9%
1950	2,404	−18.7%
1960	1,919	−20.2%
1970	1,530	−20.3%
1980	1,356	−11.4%
1990	1,222	−9.9%
2000	1,068	−12.6%
2010	967	−9.5%
2020	856	−11.5%
US Decennial Census^[9] 1790-1960^[10] 1900-1990^[11] 1990-2000^[12] 2010^[13]

As of the 2000 United States Census,^[14] there were 1,068 people, 430 households, and 312 families in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (0.77 people/km²). There were 526 housing units at an average density of 0.7 units per square mile (0.27/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.19% White, 0.19% Black or African American, 0.28% Asian, 1.78% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 2.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 430 households, out of which 28.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.00% were married couples living together, 2.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.40% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

The county population contains 26.60% under the age of 18, 5.50% from 18 to 24, 21.50% from 25 to 44, 26.50% from 45 to 64, and 19.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 100.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,667, and the median income for a family was $31,125. Males had a median income of $19,211 versus $16,806 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,099. About 14.60% of families and 18.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.20% of those under age 18 and 12.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Villages

Hamlet
Hayes Center (county seat)
Palisade (partial)

Unincorporated community

Marengo

Townships

Hayes County has not been subdivided into townships, unlike most other Nebraska counties.

Former communities

Carrico
Eddy
Elmer
Estel
Galena
Highland
Hope
Hudson
Marengo
Norris
Robert
Strickland
Sullivan
Thornburgh
White

Politics

Hayes County voters have traditionally been strongly Republican. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. In 2020 Donald Trump received 92% of the vote, one of the highest margins by far.

United States presidential election results for Hayes County, Nebraska^[15]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	494	92.16%	34	6.34%	8	1.49%
2016	472	91.83%	30	5.84%	12	2.33%
2012	476	88.31%	51	9.46%	12	2.23%
2008	461	83.36%	85	15.37%	7	1.27%
2004	524	87.63%	66	11.04%	8	1.34%
2000	486	85.11%	66	11.56%	19	3.33%
1996	439	77.02%	87	15.26%	44	7.72%
1992	362	55.35%	85	13.00%	207	31.65%
1988	512	75.07%	160	23.46%	10	1.47%
1984	593	85.45%	101	14.55%	0	0.00%
1980	617	84.52%	82	11.23%	31	4.25%
1976	411	59.14%	267	38.42%	17	2.45%
1972	486	79.80%	123	20.20%	0	0.00%
1968	496	71.26%	127	18.25%	73	10.49%
1964	503	58.15%	362	41.85%	0	0.00%
1960	699	71.33%	281	28.67%	0	0.00%
1956	726	70.01%	311	29.99%	0	0.00%
1952	932	80.90%	220	19.10%	0	0.00%
1948	529	55.86%	418	44.14%	0	0.00%
1944	782	66.89%	387	33.11%	0	0.00%
1940	759	55.93%	598	44.07%	0	0.00%
1936	654	44.13%	818	55.20%	10	0.67%
1932	506	33.55%	962	63.79%	40	2.65%
1928	917	65.83%	440	31.59%	36	2.58%
1924	475	42.60%	288	25.83%	352	31.57%
1920	512	66.41%	207	26.85%	52	6.74%
1916	219	33.33%	382	58.14%	56	8.52%
1912	106	17.94%	189	31.98%	296	50.08%
1908	359	52.10%	277	40.20%	53	7.69%
1904	335	62.97%	110	20.68%	87	16.35%
1900	308	49.20%	284	45.37%	34	5.43%