Perkins County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the U.S. state of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, the population was 2,970. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Grant. In the Nebraska license plate system, Perkins County is represented by the prefix 74 (it had the seventy-fourth-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Perkins County was organized in 1887. It is believed to have been named for Charles E. Perkins, the president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.

Geography

Perkins County lies on the southwest side of Nebraska. Its west boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

. The county terrain consists of arid, low rolling hills. The planar areas are used for agriculture, usually employing center pivot irrigation. The land slopes to the southeast. The county has an area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water. Most of Nebraska's 93 counties (the eastern 2/3) observe

Central Time Central Time may refer to: * Central Time Zone, a time zone in North America * Central European Time, a time zone in Europe *Australian Central Time, a time zone in Australia (see Time in Australia Australia uses three main time zones: Austra ...

; the western counties (including Perkins) observe Mountain Time. Perkins County is the easternmost of the Nebraska counties to observe Mountain Time.

Major highways

Nebraska Highway 23 * N-61

Nebraska Highway 61

Adjacent counties

* Lincoln County – east (observes

) * Hayes County – southeast (observes Central Time) * Chase County – south *

Phillips County, Colorado Phillips County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,530. The county seat is Holyoke. The county was named in honor of R.O. Phillips, a secretary of the Lincoln Land Company, who organi ...

– southwest * Sedgwick County, Colorado – west *

Deuel County Deuel County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Deuel County, Nebraska: named for Harry Porter Deuel, a long time railroad official who resided in Omaha, NE * Deuel County, South Dakota Deuel County ( ) is a county in the U.S. ...

– northwest * Keith County – north

Demographics

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 c ...

there were 3,200 people, 1,275 households, and 893 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 4 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 1,444 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.69%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.03%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 1.34% from other races, and 0.44% from two or more races. 2.31% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 1,275 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.90% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 4.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.90% were non-families. 27.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.01. The county population contained 26.60% under the age of 18, 6.00% from 18 to 24, 23.50% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 19.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 100.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,205, and the median income for a family was $42,112. Males had a median income of $28,438 versus $19,881 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $17,830. About 9.50% of families and 13.60% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 20.10% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Grant (county seat)

Villages

* Elsie *

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

* Venango

Unincorporated communities

* Brandon * Grainton

Politics

Perkins County voters are reliably Republican. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020).

External links

County chamber of commerce

References

{{authority control 1887 establishments in Nebraska Populated places established in 1887