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Keith County
Keith County
County
	Keith County Courthouse in Ogallala
	Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
	Nebraska's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 41°12′N 101°40′W / 41.2°N 101.66°W
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Founded	1873
Named for	M.C. Keith or John Keith
Seat	Ogallala
Largest city	Ogallala
Area
• Total	1,110 sq mi (2,900 km2)
• Land	1,062 sq mi (2,750 km2)
• Water	48 sq mi (120 km2) 4.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	8,335
• Density	7.5/sq mi (2.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.keithcountyne.gov

Keith County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 8,335.^[1] Its county seat is Ogallala.^[2]

In the Nebraska license plate system, Keith County is represented by the prefix 68 (it had the sixty-eighth-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Keith County was formed in 1873. Sources differ on the Keith after whom it was named: either M. C. Keith of North Platte, whose grandson Keith Neville became Nebraska's 18th governor in 1917; or John Keith, also of North Platte.^[3]^[4]

Geography

The terrain of Keith County consists of low rolling hills. The level areas are used for agriculture, mainly in the lower part of the county. The North Platte River flows eastward into the northwest end of the county, feeding Lake McConaughy, then exiting the county's east line near its midpoint. The South Platte River flows eastward into the southwest end of the county, and crosses the lower central part of the county before exiting to the east, headed for its junction with the North Platte River well to the east of Keith County.^[5]

The county has an area of 1,110 square miles (2,900 km²), of which 1,062 square miles (2,750 km²) is land and 48 square miles (120 km²) (4.3%) is water.^[6]

Most of Nebraska's 93 counties (the eastern 2/3) observe Central Time; the western counties observe Mountain Time. Keith County is the easternmost of the Nebraska counties to observe Mountain Time.^[7]

Major highways

Transit

Adjacent counties

Arthur County – north
McPherson County – northeast (boundary of Central Time)
Lincoln County – east (boundary of Central Time)
Perkins County – south
Deuel County – west
Garden County – northwest

Protected areas

Clear Creek State Waterfowl Management Area (partial)^[8]
Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area^[9]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	194	—
1890	2,556	1,217.5%
1900	1,951	−23.7%
1910	3,692	89.2%
1920	5,294	43.4%
1930	6,721	27.0%
1940	8,333	24.0%
1950	7,449	−10.6%
1960	7,958	6.8%
1970	8,487	6.6%
1980	9,364	10.3%
1990	8,584	−8.3%
2000	8,875	3.4%
2010	8,368	−5.7%
2020	8,335	−0.4%
2023 (est.)	8,113	−2.7%
U.S. Decennial Census^[10] 1790-1960^[11] 1900-1990^[12] 1990-2000^[13] 2010^[14] 2020 2022^[15]

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 8,327 people and 3,781 households. The population density was 7.5 people per square mile (2.9 people/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.6% White, 1.1% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 0.7% Asian, and 1.6% from two or more races. 8.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The median income for a household in the county was $59,511 and the per capita income for the county was $34,905. 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line.

As of the census^[16] of 2000, there were 8,875 people, 3,707 households, and 2,535 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile (3.1 people/km²). There were 5,178 housing units at an average density of 5 units per square mile (1.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.75% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 0.71% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 1.49% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 4.23% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,707 households, out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.60% were non-families. 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.30% under the age of 18, 5.70% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 18.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,325, and the median income for a family was $39,118. Males had a median income of $26,523 versus $19,024 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,421. About 6.60% of families and 9.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.10% of those under age 18 and 8.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Ogallala (county seat)

Villages

Brule
Paxton

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Former communities

Politics

United States presidential election results for Keith County, Nebraska^[20]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	3,416	81.16%	731	17.37%	62	1.47%
2020	3,544	81.12%	763	17.46%	62	1.42%
2016	3,235	80.19%	571	14.15%	228	5.65%
2012	3,044	75.01%	928	22.87%	86	2.12%
2008	2,942	74.14%	974	24.55%	52	1.31%
2004	3,356	81.12%	743	17.96%	38	0.92%
2000	2,953	76.72%	778	20.21%	118	3.07%
1996	2,504	65.50%	830	21.71%	489	12.79%
1992	2,050	51.65%	740	18.64%	1,179	29.71%
1988	2,886	72.31%	1,075	26.94%	30	0.75%
1984	3,433	84.10%	631	15.46%	18	0.44%
1980	3,381	77.65%	710	16.31%	263	6.04%
1976	2,485	66.09%	1,139	30.29%	136	3.62%
1972	2,513	79.07%	665	20.93%	0	0.00%
1968	2,126	70.91%	694	23.15%	178	5.94%
1964	1,927	51.93%	1,784	48.07%	0	0.00%
1960	2,680	68.88%	1,211	31.12%	0	0.00%
1956	2,624	73.83%	930	26.17%	0	0.00%
1952	2,790	78.39%	769	21.61%	0	0.00%
1948	1,600	59.06%	1,109	40.94%	0	0.00%
1944	1,739	60.26%	1,147	39.74%	0	0.00%
1940	2,022	53.48%	1,759	46.52%	0	0.00%
1936	1,094	34.71%	2,000	63.45%	58	1.84%
1932	946	31.63%	2,009	67.17%	36	1.20%
1928	1,715	67.10%	832	32.55%	9	0.35%
1924	1,069	49.93%	602	28.12%	470	21.95%
1920	1,050	64.73%	472	29.10%	100	6.17%
1916	389	39.06%	544	54.62%	63	6.33%
1912	188	23.04%	304	37.25%	324	39.71%
1908	368	53.41%	310	44.99%	11	1.60%
1904	263	60.18%	89	20.37%	85	19.45%
1900	246	52.34%	216	45.96%	8	1.70%
1896	178	39.64%	269	59.91%	2	0.45%
1892	210	37.84%	98	17.66%	247	44.50%
1888	319	50.08%	263	41.29%	55	8.63%
1884	67	47.86%	72	51.43%	1	0.71%
1880	32	38.55%	51	61.45%	0	0.00%