• county
  • FIPS 31019
  • Largest town: Kearney

Buffalo County, Nebraska

Buffalo County had 51,156 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 968.3 square miles of land. It ranks 5th of 93 in Nebraska by population and 18th by land area.

Population
51,156
#5 of 93 in Nebraska · #997 in US
Area
968.3 sq mi
#18 of 93 in Nebraska · #725 in US
Density
53 / sq mi
#10 of 93 in Nebraska · #1,414 in US
Median household income
$76,686
#13 of 93 in Nebraska · #591 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Buffalo County within Nebraska. Pin: Lincoln.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Buffalo County

Buffalo County population, land area and income

Buffalo County had 51,156 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 968.3 square miles of land. It ranks 5th of 93 in Nebraska by population and 18th by land area. That works out to 52.8 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and above the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Nebraska has 6,103 residents, so Buffalo County is 8.4 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $76,686 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

51,156

3144th1st

997th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

968 sq mi

3144th1st

725th of 3,144 (US)

Density

52.8 / sq mi

3144th1st

1414th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$76,686

3143rd1st

591st of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Nebraska (93)

Population

51,156

93rd1st

5th of 93 (NE)

Land area

968 sq mi

93rd1st

18th of 93 (NE)

Density

52.8 / sq mi

93rd1st

10th of 93 (NE)

Median household income

$76,686

93rd1st

13th of 93 (NE)

How Buffalo County's population changed since 2020

Buffalo County gained 952 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 1.9%. That ranks 17th of 93 in Nebraska for growth. The median Nebraska county changed by -0.6%, and the state as a whole by +2.1%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Buffalo County recorded 2,556 births and 1,856 deaths, a natural change of +700. Net international migration added +286 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +64. The largest single component was natural change, which added 700 people.

50.2k202050.3k202150.5k202250.7k202351.2k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
2,556
Deaths
1,856
Net international migration
+286
Net domestic migration
+64
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+460

Where Buffalo County is

The Census internal point of Buffalo County is at 40.855300, -99.075000. It sits in UTM zone 14N. The map shades Nebraska's 93 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Buffalo County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

York County: +1.9%Boone County: -0.1%Grant County: -7.0%Saline County: +0.2%Adams County: +0.1%Clay County: -0.1%Logan County: -3.3%Hamilton County: +1.7%Thomas County: -5.9%Lancaster County: +3.0%Sherman County: -0.1%Lincoln County: -3.5%Stanton County: -1.1%Dawes County: -1.9%Madison County: +0.1%Perkins County: -2.9%Arthur County: -2.1%Deuel County: +3.2%Banner County: -1.9%Dundy County: -4.2%Garfield County: -5.4%Wheeler County: +4.3%Seward County: +0.9%Johnson County: -1.4%Wayne County: +1.7%Hayes County: -0.4%Gosper County: -4.6%Blaine County: +6.1%Valley County: -0.6%Keith County: -2.1%Antelope County: +1.3%Hooker County: -1.3%Hitchcock County: -6.1%Box Butte County: -1.1%Morrill County: -1.6%Chase County: -3.2%Howard County: +1.3%Holt County: +0.1%Phelps County: +0.7%Cuming County: -0.7%Jefferson County: -1.7%Garden County: -4.5%Dodge County: +2.1%Buffalo County: +1.9%Butler County: +1.0%Fillmore County: -1.0%Boyd County: -5.7%Nuckolls County: +0.1%Loup County: -3.8%Sioux County: -3.7%Thayer County: -3.1%Cheyenne County: +1.2%Rock County: -1.9%Nance County: -3.9%Greeley County: +0.8%Hall County: +0.1%Brown County: -0.9%Dakota County: -1.0%Kearney County: +0.9%Webster County: -1.9%Nemaha County: -0.6%Franklin County: -2.5%Furnas County: -3.5%Sarpy County: +7.1%Platte County: +3.5%Kimball County: -3.0%Polk County: +1.0%Dixon County: -1.1%Knox County: -1.0%Thurston County: -1.8%Douglas County: +2.7%Scotts Bluff County: -0.9%Pierce County: -0.1%Burt County: +0.0%Merrick County: +2.3%Sheridan County: -3.5%Washington County: +1.6%Frontier County: +1.3%Colfax County: +2.6%Cass County: +3.3%Pawnee County: -0.8%Richardson County: -2.5%Cedar County: -1.3%Gage County: +0.2%Dawson County: +2.0%Keya Paha County: +7.8%Cherry County: +1.9%McPherson County: -5.1%Otoe County: +4.3%Red Willow County: -2.6%Custer County: -0.0%Harlan County: -1.2%Saunders County: +4.6%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -3.0%
  2. < -1.1%
  3. < +0.1%
  4. < +1.7%
  5. ≥ +1.7%
no data

Orange pin: Buffalo County internal point. Dark pin: Lincoln.

Internal point

Decimal
40.855300, -99.075000
DMS
40°51'19.08"N 99°04'30.00"W
UTM
14N 493678.6E 4522696.9N
Geohash
9z383mrz3
Plus code
86G2VW4G+42

Towns in Buffalo County

4 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Buffalo County, 39,086 people together, or 76% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Buffalo County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Kearney with 34,741.

  1. 01Kearney34,741
  2. 02Gibbon1,917
  3. 03Ravenna1,383
  4. 04Shelton1,045
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Buffalo County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 8 neighbors for Buffalo County. The most populous is Hall County, NE, with 62,869 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Lincoln and the nearest big city

Lincoln is 124.2 miles E of Buffalo County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Lincoln, NE (population 300,619), 125.5 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Kearney, NE (population 34,741), 10.6 miles away.

Buffalo County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Buffalo County is 31019: state code 31 for Nebraska plus county code 019. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $76,686.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Buffalo County, Nebraska?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 51,156. That is up 952 people (1.9%) from the July 2020 estimate of 50,204.

What is the FIPS code of Buffalo County?

31019. The first two digits (31) are Nebraska; the last three (019) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Buffalo County?

Kearney, with 34,741 residents inside Buffalo County in 2024.

Which counties border Buffalo County?

8 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Hall County, NE; Adams County, NE; Dawson County, NE; Custer County, NE; Phelps County, NE; Kearney County, NE; Howard County, NE; Sherman County, NE.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.