Furnas County, Nebraska

Furnas County, Nebraska
Furnas County Courthouse in Beaver City
Location in the U.S. state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location in the U.S.
Founded	1873
Named for	Robert W. Furnas
Seat	Beaver City
Largest city	Cambridge
Area
• Total	721 sq mi (1,867 km2)
• Land	719 sq mi (1,862 km2)
• Water	1.5 sq mi (4 km2), 0.2%
Population
• (2010)	4,959
• Density	6.9/sq mi (3/km²)
Congressional district	3rd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.furnascounty.ne.gov

Furnas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,959. Its county seat is Beaver City. The county was named in honor of Robert W. Furnas, the second governor of the state of Nebraska.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Furnas County is represented by the prefix 38 (it had the thirty-eighth-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 721 square miles (1,870 km²), of which 719 square miles (1,860 km²) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 6
• U.S. Highway 34
• U.S. Highway 136
• U.S. Highway 283
• 20px Nebraska Highway 46
• Nebraska Highway 47
• 20px Nebraska Highway 89

Adjacent counties

• Harlan County (east)
• Norton County, Kansas (south)
• Decatur County, Kansas (southwest)
• Red Willow County (west)
• Frontier County (northwest)
• Gosper County (north)
• Phelps County (northeast)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	6,407		—
1890	9,840		53.6%
1900	12,373		25.7%
1910	12,083		−2.3%
1920	11,657		−3.5%
1930	12,140		4.1%
1940	10,098		−16.8%
1950	9,385		−7.1%
1960	7,711		−17.8%
1970	6,897		−10.6%
1980	6,486		−6.0%
1990	5,553		−14.4%
2000	5,324		−4.1%
2010	4,959		−6.9%
Est. 2014	4,888		−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,324 people, 2,278 households, and 1,489 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 2,730 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.22% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 1.15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 45.6% were of German, 13.8% American, 11.4% English, 7.4% Irish and 5.2% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 2,278 households out of which 28.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were married couples living together, 5.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.60% were non-families. 32.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 22.80% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 23.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 92.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,498, and the median income for a family was $37,000. Males had a median income of $26,563 versus $19,918 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,223. About 6.90% of families and 10.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

• Arapahoe
• Beaver City (county seat)
• Cambridge
• Edison
• Hendley
• Holbrook
• Oxford (partial)
• Wilsonville

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Furnas County, Nebraska

External links

Official website