• county
  • FIPS 31159
  • Largest town: Seward

Seward County, Nebraska

Seward County had 17,769 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 571.4 square miles of land. It ranks 18th of 93 in Nebraska by population and 56th by land area.

Population
17,769
#18 of 93 in Nebraska · #1,946 in US
Area
571.4 sq mi
#56 of 93 in Nebraska · #1,758 in US
Density
31 / sq mi
#15 of 93 in Nebraska · #1,891 in US
Median household income
$81,819
#6 of 93 in Nebraska · #410 in US

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

Seward County within Nebraska. Pin: Lincoln.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Seward County

Seward County population, land area and income

Seward County had 17,769 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 571.4 square miles of land. It ranks 18th of 93 in Nebraska by population and 56th by land area. That works out to 31.1 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Nebraska has 6,103 residents, so Seward County is 2.9 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $81,819 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

17,769

3144th1st

1946th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

571 sq mi

3144th1st

1758th of 3,144 (US)

Density

31.1 / sq mi

3144th1st

1891st of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$81,819

3143rd1st

410th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Nebraska (93)

Population

17,769

93rd1st

18th of 93 (NE)

Land area

571 sq mi

93rd1st

56th of 93 (NE)

Density

31.1 / sq mi

93rd1st

15th of 93 (NE)

Median household income

$81,819

93rd1st

6th of 93 (NE)

How Seward County's population changed since 2020

Seward County gained 159 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 0.9%. That ranks 28th 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, Seward County recorded 731 births and 815 deaths, a natural change of -84. Net international migration added +28 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +227. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 227 people.

17.6k202017.6k202117.6k202217.6k202317.8k2024
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
731
Deaths
815
Net international migration
+28
Net domestic migration
+227
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+123

Where Seward County is

The Census internal point of Seward County is at 40.871900, -97.140400. 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 Seward 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: Seward County internal point. Dark pin: Lincoln.

Internal point

Decimal
40.871900, -97.140400
DMS
40°52'18.84"N 97°08'25.44"W
UTM
14N 656701.6E 4526201.3N
Geohash
9z6bt8880
Plus code
86G4VVC5+QR

Towns in Seward County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Seward County, 9,963 people together, or 56% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Seward County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Seward with 7,752.

  1. 01Seward7,752
  2. 02Milford2,211
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Seward County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Seward County. The most populous is Lancaster County, NE, with 332,857 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Lincoln and the nearest big city

Lincoln is 23.4 miles E of Seward County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Lincoln, NE (population 300,619), 24.7 miles away.

Seward County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Seward County is 31159: state code 31 for Nebraska plus county code 159. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $81,819.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Seward County, Nebraska?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 17,769. That is up 159 people (0.9%) from the July 2020 estimate of 17,610.

What is the FIPS code of Seward County?

31159. The first two digits (31) are Nebraska; the last three (159) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Seward County?

Seward, with 7,752 residents inside Seward County in 2024.

Which counties border Seward County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Lancaster County, NE; Saline County, NE; York County, NE; Butler County, NE; Fillmore County, NE; Polk 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.