Colorado vs Nebraska

The two states, county by county

Both maps share one density scale, so the same shade means the same number of people per square mile on either side of the border. Darker counties are denser. Select a county to open its page.

Side by side

Population and density

Colorado has 5,957,493 residents, 3.0 times Nebraska's 2,005,465. Colorado ranks 21st and Nebraska 37th of the 50 states and DC. Colorado is the more crowded, with 57.5 people per square mile against 26.1, 2.2 times.

Land area

Colorado has 103,637 square miles of land, 35% more than Nebraska's 76,815. The largest county-equivalent in Colorado is Las Animas County at 4,773 square miles; in Nebraska it is Cherry County at 5,960.

Counties

Nebraska is divided into 93 county-equivalents and Colorado into 64, so an average Nebraska county covers 826 square miles against 1,619. The typical county in Colorado has 15,336 residents, against 6,103 in Nebraska. The most populous are El Paso County (752,772) and Douglas County (601,158).

9 county names appear on both sides of the border: Adams, Cheyenne, Custer, Douglas, Garfield, Jefferson, Lincoln, Logan, Washington. Use the FIPS code, not the name, when joining data across the two states.

Household income

The median county in Colorado has a household income of $72,982, 12% above Nebraska's $65,151. The highest county incomes are Douglas County ($144,807) in Colorado and Sarpy County ($101,902) in Nebraska, from SAIPE 2023.

Capitals and daylight

Denver and Lincoln are 443 miles apart in a straight line; from Denver the initial bearing is 78°, ENE. On June 21, 2026, Denver gets 14 h 59 min of daylight and Lincoln 15 h 06 min; on December 21 the figures are 9 h 21 min and 9 h 15 min. Month by month tables are on the Denver and Lincoln daylight pages.

Where they sit

The border between them is also a Census region boundary: Colorado is in the West and Nebraska in the Midwest. By county internal points, Colorado spans 2 UTM zones and Nebraska 3.