Sheridan County, Nebraska

Sheridan County
Sheridan County
County
	Sheridan County Courthouse in Rushville
	Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
	Nebraska's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 42°30′N 102°26′W / 42.5°N 102.43°W
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Founded	1885
Named for	Philip Sheridan
Seat	Rushville
Largest city	Gordon
Area
• Total	2,470 sq mi (6,400 km2)
• Land	2,441 sq mi (6,320 km2)
• Water	29 sq mi (80 km2) 1.2%
Population (2020)
• Total	5,127
• Density	2.1/sq mi (0.80/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Sheridan County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 5,127.^[1] Its county seat is Rushville.^[2] The county was formed in 1885, and was named for General Philip H. Sheridan.^[3]

In the Nebraska license plate system, Sheridan County is represented by the prefix 61 (it had the sixty-first-largest number of vehicles registered in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

Sheridan County lies on the north line of Nebraska. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of the state of South Dakota. An upper reach of the Niobrara River flows eastward through the upper central part of the county. The terrain consists of arid rolling hills, dotted with small lakes in the eastern and southern parts of the county.^[4] The county has a total area of 2,470 square miles (6,400 km²), of which 2,441 square miles (6,320 km²) is land and 29 square miles (75 km²) (1.2%) is water.^[5] It is the fourth-largest county in Nebraska by area.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota - north
Cherry County - east
Grant County - southeast
Garden County - south
Morrill County - southwest
Dawes County - west
Box Butte County - west

Protected areas

Smith Lake State Wildlife Management Area^[6]
Walgren Lake State Recreation Area^[7]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1890	8,687	—
1900	3,066	−64.7%
1910	7,328	139.0%
1920	9,625	31.3%
1930	10,793	12.1%
1940	9,869	−8.6%
1950	9,539	−3.3%
1960	9,049	−5.1%
1970	7,285	−19.5%
1980	7,544	3.6%
1990	6,750	−10.5%
2000	6,198	−8.2%
2010	5,469	−11.8%
2020	5,127	−6.3%
2022 (est.)	4,996	−2.6%
US Decennial Census^[8] 1790-1960^[9] 1900-1990^[10] 1990-2000^[11] 2010^[12] 2020^[13] 2022^[14]

As of the 2000 United States Census,^[15] there were 6,198 people, 2,549 households, and 1,728 families in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (0.77 people/km²). There were 3,013 housing units at an average density of 1.2 units per square mile (0.46/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.11% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 9.23% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 2.08% from two or more races. 1.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 31.6% were of German, 8.8% English, 7.8% Irish and 7.3% American ancestry.

There were 2,549 households, out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.80% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.20% were non-families. 29.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.95.

The county population contained 25.60% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 22.90% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 21.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,484, and the median income for a family was $35,167. Males had a median income of $21,892 versus $18,423 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,844. About 11.00% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.30% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Gordon
Rushville (county seat)

Villages

Census-designated place

Whiteclay

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

Antioch

1910 Census-designated places

Politics

Sheridan County voters have traditionally voted Republican; every national election since 1940 has seen Sheridan County choose the Republican Party presidential candidate. The county, alongside neighboring Garden County were the only two counties not to back Democratic Governor Ben Nelson in his 1994 landslide.

United States presidential election results for Sheridan County, Nebraska^[16]^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,292	85.39%	340	12.67%	52	1.94%
2016	2,211	84.78%	287	11.00%	110	4.22%
2012	2,021	81.76%	390	15.78%	61	2.47%
2008	1,941	78.84%	454	18.44%	67	2.72%
2004	2,136	82.19%	430	16.54%	33	1.27%
2000	2,105	81.72%	392	15.22%	79	3.07%
1996	1,834	67.50%	573	21.09%	310	11.41%
1992	1,698	56.68%	535	17.86%	763	25.47%
1988	2,251	77.67%	612	21.12%	35	1.21%
1984	2,661	86.93%	377	12.32%	23	0.75%
1980	2,749	84.04%	370	11.31%	152	4.65%
1976	2,003	67.83%	810	27.43%	140	4.74%
1972	2,386	83.22%	481	16.78%	0	0.00%
1968	2,236	76.29%	454	15.49%	241	8.22%
1964	2,440	67.85%	1,156	32.15%	0	0.00%
1960	2,870	71.50%	1,144	28.50%	0	0.00%
1956	2,618	74.57%	893	25.43%	0	0.00%
1952	3,512	80.68%	841	19.32%	0	0.00%
1948	2,180	64.86%	1,181	35.14%	0	0.00%
1944	2,570	71.37%	1,031	28.63%	0	0.00%
1940	3,161	66.87%	1,566	33.13%	0	0.00%
1936	1,907	42.52%	2,428	54.14%	150	3.34%
1932	1,820	37.41%	2,945	60.53%	100	2.06%
1928	3,030	70.22%	1,226	28.41%	59	1.37%
1924	1,509	41.46%	661	18.16%	1,470	40.38%
1920	1,714	64.53%	784	29.52%	158	5.95%
1916	604	32.35%	1,158	62.02%	105	5.62%
1912	377	22.56%	630	37.70%	664	39.74%
1908	709	46.68%	733	48.26%	77	5.07%
1904	673	61.57%	171	15.65%	249	22.78%
1900	626	45.59%	703	51.20%	44	3.20%