Nance County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. state of

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,380. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Fullerton. In the Nebraska license plate system, Nance County is represented by the prefix 58 (it had the fifty-eighth-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

The land that comprises Nance County was originally part of the Pawnee Reservation, created in 1857 when the Pawnee Indians signed a treaty with the United States ceding its lands in exchange for the reservation."Fullerton--Nance County".Nebraska...Our Towns.
Retrieved September 5, 2010. After Nebraska gained statehood in March 1867, the state government extinguished the tribe's rights to their land, sold the land and used the proceeds to defray expenses to obtain lands elsewhere for the Indians. In the mid-1870s the remainder of the reservation was sold, and in 1876 the tribe was relocated to its present-day location in central

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. The boundaries for Nance County were approved in 1879. It was named for Governor

Albinus Nance Albinus Roberts Nance (March 30, 1848 – December 7, 1911) was an Politics of the United States, American politician. He served as a soldier during the American Civil War, and as the List of governors of Nebraska, fourth governor of Nebraska. N ...

. Nearly all the land in Nance County was purchased by settlers or by investors for resale, instead of the homestead provisions common to most of Nebraska.

Geography

The terrain of Nance County consists of rolling hills, sloping to the northeast. The Loup River flows east-northeastward through the central part of the county. The Cedar River flows southeastward to discharge into the Loup River near Fullerton. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water.

Major highways

Nebraska Highway 14 * N-22

Nebraska Highway 22 * N-39

Nebraska Highway 39 * N-52

Nebraska Highway 52

Adjacent counties

* Platte County (northeast) * Merrick County (south) * Greeley County (west) * Boone County (north)

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 4,038 people, 1,577 households, and 1,107 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 1,787 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.39%

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

, 0.37% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 0.45% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 1.14% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 1,577 households, out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% were

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

living together, 5.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.05. The county population contained 27.90% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 23.60% from 25 to 44, 22.00% from 45 to 64, and 19.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 104.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,267, and the median income for a family was $38,717. Males had a median income of $25,349 versus $19,044 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $16,886. About 10.20% of families and 13.10% 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 17.20% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Fullerton (county seat) *

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Village

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Unincorporated communities

* Krakow * Merchiston

Townships

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

* Cedar * Cottonwood * Council Creek * East Newman * Fullerton *

* Loup Ferry * Prairie Creek * South Branch * Timber Creek * West Newman

Politics

Nance County voters are reliably Republican. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

References

{{authority control Nebraska counties 1879 establishments in Nebraska Populated places established in 1879