Thayer County, Nebraska

Thayer County
Thayer County
County
	Thayer County Courthouse in Hebron
	Interactive map of Thayer County
	Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Established	May 9, 1871
Named for	John Milton Thayer
County seat	Hebron
Largest city	Hebron
Area
• Total	575 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Land	574 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Water	1.2 sq mi (3 km2) 0.2%
Highest elevation	1,545 ft (471 m)
Lowest elevation	1,142 ft (348 m)
Population
• Estimate (2021)	4,913
• Density	8.8/sq mi (3.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	402/531
FIPS code	31169
GNIS feature ID	835906
Website	thayercountyne.gov

Thayer County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 5,034.^[1] Its county seat is Hebron. The county was created in 1856 and originally named Jefferson County. It was organized in 1870-1871 and renamed for General and Governor John Milton Thayer.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

In the Nebraska license plate system, Thayer County is represented by the prefix 32 (it had the thirty-second-largest number of vehicles registered in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

Thayer County lies on the south line of Nebraska. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of Kansas. Its terrain consists of rolling hills, sloped toward the east. A local drainage, Big Sandy Creek, flows southeast and east through the northern part of the county, and another drainage, Rose Creek, flows northeastward through the SE corner of the county (they converge east of Thayer County's east boundary line). The planar portions of the terrain are partially used for agriculture.^[6]

Thayer County has an area of 575 square miles (1,490 km²), of which 574 square miles (1,490 km²) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) (0.2%) is water.^[7]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Saline County – northeast
Jefferson County – east
Washington County, Kansas – southeast
Republic County, Kansas – south
Nuckolls County – west
Fillmore County – north

Protected areas

Prairie Marsh State Wildlife Management Area^[8]
Prairie Marsh West State Wildlife Management Area^[9]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	6,113		—
1890	12,738		108.4%
1900	14,325		12.5%
1910	14,775		3.1%
1920	13,976		−5.4%
1930	13,684		−2.1%
1940	12,262		−10.4%
1950	10,563		−13.9%
1960	9,118		−13.7%
1970	7,779		−14.7%
1980	7,582		−2.5%
1990	6,635		−12.5%
2000	6,055		−8.7%
2010	5,228		−13.7%
2020	5,034		−3.7%
2021 (est.)	4,913	^[1]	−2.4%
US Decennial Census^[10] 1790-1960^[11] 1900-1990^[12] 1990-2000^[13] 2010-2013^[14] Its county seat is Hebron.^[15]

As of the 2000 United States Census,^[16] there were 6,055 people, 2,541 households, and 1,689 families in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile (3.9 people/km²). There were 2,828 housing units at an average density of 5 units per square mile (1.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.70% White, 0.02% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.33% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 1.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,541 households, out of which 27.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% were married couples living together, 5.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 31.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.90.

The county population contained 24.10% under the age of 18, 4.90% from 18 to 24, 22.30% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 24.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,740, and the median income for a family was $38,346. Males had a median income of $26,964 versus $18,275 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,043. About 7.60% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.80% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Deshler
Hebron (county seat)

Villages

Politics

Thayer County voters are reliably Republican. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020).

United States presidential election results for Thayer County, Nebraska^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,308	77.22%	624	20.88%	57	1.91%
2016	2,051	76.25%	499	18.55%	140	5.20%
2012	1,874	70.48%	728	27.38%	57	2.14%
2008	1,749	65.78%	860	32.34%	50	1.88%
2004	2,075	72.10%	764	26.55%	39	1.36%
2000	2,096	69.73%	821	27.31%	89	2.96%
1996	1,698	56.81%	933	31.21%	358	11.98%
1992	1,391	40.79%	924	27.10%	1,095	32.11%
1988	1,981	59.56%	1,322	39.75%	23	0.69%
1984	2,580	72.66%	946	26.64%	25	0.70%
1980	2,514	68.88%	926	25.37%	210	5.75%
1976	1,994	59.35%	1,315	39.14%	51	1.52%
1972	2,274	69.93%	978	30.07%	0	0.00%
1968	2,331	65.31%	1,061	29.73%	177	4.96%
1964	2,132	48.13%	2,298	51.87%	0	0.00%
1960	3,202	67.38%	1,550	32.62%	0	0.00%
1956	3,346	69.81%	1,447	30.19%	0	0.00%
1952	3,992	75.92%	1,266	24.08%	0	0.00%
1948	2,601	57.39%	1,931	42.61%	0	0.00%
1944	3,554	68.37%	1,644	31.63%	0	0.00%
1940	3,893	65.21%	2,077	34.79%	0	0.00%
1936	2,628	42.91%	3,418	55.80%	79	1.29%
1932	1,878	32.33%	3,841	66.12%	90	1.55%
1928	3,552	61.80%	2,173	37.80%	23	0.40%
1924	2,847	52.73%	1,719	31.84%	833	15.43%
1920	3,456	73.31%	1,120	23.76%	138	2.93%
1916	1,772	51.26%	1,581	45.73%	104	3.01%
1912	703	21.37%	1,490	45.29%	1,097	33.34%
1908	1,714	49.07%	1,703	48.75%	76	2.18%
1904	1,930	62.48%	812	26.29%	347	11.23%
1900	1,825	54.09%	1,516	44.93%	33	0.98%