Buffalo County, Nebraska: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+45%. Republican peak: R+57 in 1984.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+45MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 50,5792024 5-year
- Median household income
- $75,9112024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 10.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+34 in 1892MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 1984MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Platte County, NE · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Buffalo CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Buffalo County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | +34.1% |
| 1896 | +13.7% |
| 1900 | +3.4% |
| 1904 | −44.3% |
| 1908 | −0.1% |
| 1912 | +20.8% |
| 1916 | +12.5% |
| 1920 | −35.7% |
| 1924 | −27.5% |
| 1928 | −45.1% |
| 1932 | +21.2% |
| 1936 | +12.8% |
| 1940 | −22.3% |
| 1944 | −22.4% |
| 1948 | −13.4% |
| 1952 | −54.4% |
| 1956 | −40.6% |
| 1960 | −32.2% |
| 1964 | +0.1% |
| 1968 | −37.6% |
| 1972 | −48.4% |
| 1976 | −29.6% |
| 1980 | −46.4% |
| 1984 | −56.9% |
| 1988 | −35.6% |
| 1992 | −33.9% |
| 1996 | −36.1% |
| 2000 | −48.6% |
| 2004 | −54.4% |
| 2008 | −37.5% |
| 2012 | −42.2% |
| 2016 | −46.4% |
| 2020 | −43.4% |
| 2024 | −44.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 6,386 | 17,064 | 23,877 | ||
| R | 6,350 | 16,640 | 23,711 | ||
| R | 4,763 | 14,569 | 21,129 | ||
| R | 5,365 | 13,570 | 19,453 | ||
| R | 5,867 | 13,097 | 19,293 | ||
| R | 4,100 | 14,222 | 18,608 | ||
| R | 3,927 | 11,931 | 16,461 | ||
| R | 4,277 | 10,004 | 15,856 | ||
| R | 3,747 | 9,726 | 17,649 | ||
| R | 4,702 | 9,981 | 14,828 | ||
| R | 3,086 | 11,365 | 14,550 | ||
| R | 3,167 | 9,769 | 14,243 | ||
| R | 4,308 | 8,095 | 12,777 | ||
| R | 2,988 | 8,587 | 11,575 | ||
| R | 2,875 | 6,786 | 10,394 | ||
| D | 5,436 | 5,425 | 10,861 | ||
| R | 3,891 | 7,595 | 11,486 | ||
| R | 3,100 | 7,342 | 10,442 | ||
| R | 2,501 | 8,467 | 10,968 | ||
| R | 3,716 | 4,862 | 8,578 | ||
| R | 3,852 | 6,073 | 9,925 | ||
| R | 4,060 | 6,387 | 10,447 | ||
| D | 6,002 | 4,595 | 10,972 | ||
| D | 5,872 | 3,773 | 9,923 | ||
| R | 2,801 | 7,460 | 10,329 | ||
| R | 2,337 | 4,746 | 8,771 | ||
| R | 2,258 | 4,954 | 7,557 | ||
| D | 2,877 | 2,216 | 5,303 | ||
| D | 2,061 | 1,081 | 4,714 | ||
| R | 2,520 | 2,526 | 5,197 | ||
| R | 731 | 2,554 | 4,115 | ||
| D | 2,056 | 1,916 | 4,125 | ||
| D | 2,433 | 1,835 | 4,376 | ||
| O | 1,864 | 377 | 4,355 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
37.0%
Irish
13.1%
English
10.6%
American
4.0%
Polish
3.0%
Italian
2.3%
French
2.3%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 35.1 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$75,911
Buffalo County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Buffalo County$75,911
Nebraska$76,475
United States$80,734
Buffalo County ranks in the top 25% of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.9%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 188.1%
Working age (18–64)10.3%
Seniors (65+)11.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.2%
speak English only
Spanish6.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.5%
Other Indo-European1.1%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 48.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Buffalo County, anchored by Kearney along the Platte River, has delivered Republican presidential margins exceeding 40 points in recent cycles, reflecting the deep-red tilt of Nebraska's rural interior despite hosting a regional university and retail hub.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached thirty-four points in 1892; the Republican margin reached fifty-seven points in 1984. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-five points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 87% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $75,911, and a 10% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Platte County and Canyon County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Buffalo County, Nebraska. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/31019/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Buffalo County, Nebraska vote in 2024?
In 2024, Buffalo County, Nebraska voted Republican by 44.7 points (R+45), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 23,877 votes cast, 6,386 went Democratic and 17,064 went Republican.
What is Buffalo County, Nebraska's political typology?
Akashic places Buffalo County, Nebraska in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 7 times, Republican 26 times, and other 1 times.
When did Buffalo County, Nebraska last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Buffalo County, Nebraska voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Buffalo County, Nebraska?
Buffalo County, Nebraska has a population of 50,579 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Buffalo County, Nebraska?
Median household income in Buffalo County, Nebraska is $75,911 — below the national median of $80,734. The Nebraska state median is $76,475.
What is the political history of Buffalo County, Nebraska?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Buffalo County, Nebraska from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.