Butler County, Nebraska: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+59%. Republican peak: R+60 in 2016.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+59MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 8,4242024 5-year
- Median household income
- $79,2682024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+44 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+60 in 2016MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Saunders County, NE · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Butler CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Butler 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 | +21.7% |
| 1896 | +27.1% |
| 1900 | +18.0% |
| 1904 | −13.1% |
| 1908 | +19.9% |
| 1912 | +28.8% |
| 1916 | +34.5% |
| 1920 | −12.5% |
| 1924 | +0.2% |
| 1928 | +8.3% |
| 1932 | +44.2% |
| 1936 | +27.7% |
| 1940 | +4.5% |
| 1944 | +7.9% |
| 1948 | +10.6% |
| 1952 | −27.8% |
| 1956 | −12.1% |
| 1960 | +9.8% |
| 1964 | +29.1% |
| 1968 | −2.9% |
| 1972 | −11.9% |
| 1976 | +12.4% |
| 1980 | −37.8% |
| 1984 | −36.0% |
| 1988 | −9.7% |
| 1992 | −19.1% |
| 1996 | −25.5% |
| 2000 | −42.1% |
| 2004 | −46.7% |
| 2008 | −35.6% |
| 2012 | −43.9% |
| 2016 | −60.0% |
| 2020 | −59.1% |
| 2024 | −59.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 906 | 3,642 | 4,607 | ||
| R | 873 | 3,542 | 4,518 | ||
| R | 691 | 3,079 | 3,981 | ||
| R | 1,045 | 2,738 | 3,859 | ||
| R | 1,190 | 2,557 | 3,839 | ||
| R | 1,068 | 3,016 | 4,168 | ||
| R | 1,028 | 2,638 | 3,828 | ||
| R | 1,099 | 2,042 | 3,696 | ||
| R | 1,089 | 1,884 | 4,154 | ||
| R | 1,715 | 2,086 | 3,819 | ||
| R | 1,193 | 2,557 | 3,785 | ||
| R | 1,112 | 2,596 | 3,929 | ||
| D | 2,337 | 1,809 | 4,271 | ||
| R | 1,812 | 2,301 | 4,113 | ||
| R | 1,544 | 1,646 | 3,514 | ||
| D | 2,993 | 1,642 | 4,635 | ||
| D | 2,742 | 2,253 | 4,995 | ||
| R | 2,244 | 2,864 | 5,108 | ||
| R | 1,954 | 3,459 | 5,413 | ||
| D | 2,605 | 2,105 | 4,710 | ||
| D | 2,922 | 2,493 | 5,415 | ||
| D | 3,246 | 2,966 | 6,212 | ||
| D | 4,360 | 2,442 | 6,926 | ||
| D | 4,456 | 1,712 | 6,203 | ||
| D | 3,465 | 2,930 | 6,418 | ||
| D | 2,444 | 2,435 | 5,434 | ||
| R | 1,918 | 2,478 | 4,486 | ||
| D | 2,332 | 1,120 | 3,511 | ||
| D | 1,756 | 823 | 3,239 | ||
| D | 2,129 | 1,412 | 3,599 | ||
| R | 1,278 | 1,723 | 3,391 | ||
| D | 2,147 | 1,481 | 3,706 | ||
| D | 2,261 | 1,285 | 3,606 | ||
| O | 1,099 | 441 | 3,027 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
31.7%
English
5.3%
Irish
4.7%
American
4.4%
Polish
2.1%
Scottish
1.0%
French
0.7%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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: 42.8 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
$79,268
Butler County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Butler County$79,268
Nebraska$76,475
United States$80,734
Butler 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
9.7%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.8%
Working age (18–64)8.4%
Seniors (65+)11.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.3%
speak English only
Spanish5.1%
Other Indo-European0.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
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 43.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Butler County, anchored by the small city of David City, has voted Republican in presidential races by wide margins for decades. Its largely agricultural economy and sparse population of under 9,000 make it a reliable bellwether for rural Nebraska's political lean.
The Republican margin here reached sixty points in 2016. The 2024 margin was fifty-nine points.
A population of 8,424, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $79,268 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Saunders County and Cedar 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.
Butler County, Nebraska. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/31023/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Butler County, Nebraska vote in 2024?
In 2024, Butler County, Nebraska voted Republican by 59.4 points (R+59), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 4,607 votes cast, 906 went Democratic and 3,642 went Republican.
What is Butler County, Nebraska's political typology?
Akashic places Butler County, Nebraska in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. 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 15 times, Republican 18 times, and other 1 times.
When did Butler County, Nebraska last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Butler County, Nebraska voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in Butler County, Nebraska?
Butler County, Nebraska has a population of 8,424 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Butler County, Nebraska?
Median household income in Butler County, Nebraska is $79,268 — below the national median of $80,734. The Nebraska state median is $76,475.
What is the political history of Butler County, Nebraska?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Butler County, Nebraska from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.