Lancaster County, Nebraska


Lancaster County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 285,407, making it the second-most populous county in Nebraska. Its county seat is Lincoln, the state capital. The county was created in 1859.
Lancaster County is part of the Lincoln, NE Metropolitan Statistical Area.
In the Nebraska license plate system, Lancaster County was represented by the prefix 2. In 2002, the state discontinued the 1922 system in Lancaster, Douglas and Sarpy counties.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Major highways

In 2004, Lancaster County was named a StormReady county by the National Weather Service.

Adjacent counties

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 250,291 people, 99,187 households, and 60,702 families in the county. The population density was 298 people per square mile. There were 104,217 housing units at an average density of 124 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 90.07% White, 2.82% Black or African American, 0.64% Native American, 2.86% Asian American, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.69% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. 3.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 39.1% were of German, 7.9% English and 7.8% Irish ancestry.
There were 99,187 households out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.80% were married couples living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.80% were non-families. 29.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.00.
The county population contained 23.50% under the age of 18, 15.40% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 20.30% from 45 to 64, and 10.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,850, and the median income for a family was $53,676. Males had a median income of $34,720 versus $25,614 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,265. About 5.50% of families and 9.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.90% of those under age 18 and 6.10% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Lancaster County is divided into the following census divisions, called precincts, except for the City of Lincoln.
Lancaster County voters tend to vote Republican. In the last 30 national elections, Lancaster County selected the Republican Party candidate 78% of the time. However, the county is one of the most liberal in Nebraska with it being home to the flagship state university, giving a majority to Barack Obama in 2008 & a plurality to Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Notable native