• county
  • FIPS 31173
  • Largest town: Pender

Thurston County, Nebraska

Thurston County had 6,637 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 393.6 square miles of land. It ranks 44th of 93 in Nebraska by population and 88th by land area.

Population
6,637
#44 of 93 in Nebraska · #2,685 in US
Area
393.6 sq mi
#88 of 93 in Nebraska · #2,557 in US
Density
17 / sq mi
#25 of 93 in Nebraska · #2,342 in US
Median household income
$57,810
#72 of 93 in Nebraska · #2,050 in US

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

Thurston County within Nebraska. Pin: Lincoln.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Thurston County

Thurston County population, land area and income

Thurston County had 6,637 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 393.6 square miles of land. It ranks 44th of 93 in Nebraska by population and 88th by land area. That works out to 16.9 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, about the same as Thurston County.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $57,810 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

6,637

3144th1st

2685th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

394 sq mi

3144th1st

2557th of 3,144 (US)

Density

16.9 / sq mi

3144th1st

2342nd of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$57,810

3143rd1st

2050th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Nebraska (93)

Population

6,637

93rd1st

44th of 93 (NE)

Land area

394 sq mi

93rd1st

88th of 93 (NE)

Density

16.9 / sq mi

93rd1st

25th of 93 (NE)

Median household income

$57,810

93rd1st

72nd of 93 (NE)

How Thurston County's population changed since 2020

Thurston County lost 122 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.8%. That ranks 64th 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, Thurston County recorded 564 births and 421 deaths, a natural change of +143. Net international migration added +38 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -318. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 318 people.

6,75920206,62720216,54920226,56220236,6372024
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
564
Deaths
421
Net international migration
+38
Net domestic migration
-318
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+75

Where Thurston County is

The Census internal point of Thurston County is at 42.154100, -96.533900. 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 Thurston 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: Thurston County internal point. Dark pin: Lincoln.

Internal point

Decimal
42.154100, -96.533900
DMS
42°09'14.76"N 96°32'2.04"W
UTM
14N 703749.4E 4669829.8N
Geohash
9z7rg3fjm
Plus code
86J55F38+JC

Towns in Thurston County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Thurston County, 1,089 people together, or 16% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Thurston County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Pender with 1,089.

  1. 01Pender1,089
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Thurston County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Thurston County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Woodbury County, IA, with 107,257 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Lincoln and the nearest big city

Lincoln is 93.4 miles S of Thurston County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Omaha, NE (population 489,265), 66.4 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is South Sioux City, NE (population 13,910), 22.2 miles away.

Thurston County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Thurston County is 31173: state code 31 for Nebraska plus county code 173. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $57,810.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Thurston County, Nebraska?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 6,637. That is down 122 people (1.8%) from the July 2020 estimate of 6,759.

What is the FIPS code of Thurston County?

31173. The first two digits (31) are Nebraska; the last three (173) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Thurston County?

Pender, with 1,089 residents inside Thurston County in 2024.

Which counties border Thurston County?

7 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Woodbury County, IA; Dakota County, NE; Wayne County, NE; Cuming County, NE; Monona County, IA; Burt County, NE; Dixon 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.