Kearney County, Nebraska: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+58%. Republican peak: R+60 in 2016.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+58MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 6,7132024 5-year
- Median household income
- $78,6312024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 1892MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+60 in 2016MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Garden County, NE · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Kearney CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Kearney 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 | +35.2% |
| 1896 | +9.5% |
| 1900 | +2.4% |
| 1904 | −39.4% |
| 1908 | +7.8% |
| 1912 | +32.5% |
| 1916 | +28.6% |
| 1920 | −13.5% |
| 1924 | −6.5% |
| 1928 | −37.5% |
| 1932 | +34.7% |
| 1936 | +33.2% |
| 1940 | −6.9% |
| 1944 | −16.9% |
| 1948 | −1.4% |
| 1952 | −44.5% |
| 1956 | −29.6% |
| 1960 | −24.1% |
| 1964 | +13.3% |
| 1968 | −34.8% |
| 1972 | −48.8% |
| 1976 | −19.6% |
| 1980 | −50.6% |
| 1984 | −54.6% |
| 1988 | −33.1% |
| 1992 | −34.0% |
| 1996 | −38.4% |
| 2000 | −52.9% |
| 2004 | −56.6% |
| 2008 | −42.8% |
| 2012 | −49.6% |
| 2016 | −60.1% |
| 2020 | −58.6% |
| 2024 | −57.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 736 | 2,828 | 3,615 | ||
| R | 701 | 2,822 | 3,617 | ||
| R | 550 | 2,531 | 3,296 | ||
| R | 773 | 2,349 | 3,180 | ||
| R | 876 | 2,224 | 3,150 | ||
| R | 707 | 2,621 | 3,379 | ||
| R | 680 | 2,333 | 3,122 | ||
| R | 782 | 1,953 | 3,048 | ||
| R | 645 | 1,756 | 3,269 | ||
| R | 1,056 | 2,121 | 3,214 | ||
| R | 726 | 2,508 | 3,262 | ||
| R | 726 | 2,512 | 3,530 | ||
| R | 1,219 | 1,830 | 3,124 | ||
| R | 759 | 2,203 | 2,962 | ||
| R | 825 | 1,806 | 2,822 | ||
| D | 1,767 | 1,352 | 3,119 | ||
| R | 1,263 | 2,065 | 3,328 | ||
| R | 1,172 | 2,158 | 3,330 | ||
| R | 930 | 2,422 | 3,352 | ||
| R | 1,400 | 1,440 | 2,840 | ||
| R | 1,267 | 1,782 | 3,049 | ||
| R | 1,561 | 1,792 | 3,353 | ||
| D | 2,445 | 1,214 | 3,711 | ||
| D | 2,367 | 1,129 | 3,569 | ||
| R | 1,093 | 2,426 | 3,553 | ||
| R | 1,243 | 1,453 | 3,226 | ||
| R | 1,273 | 1,683 | 3,043 | ||
| D | 1,396 | 760 | 2,222 | ||
| D | 1,012 | 336 | 2,080 | ||
| D | 1,174 | 993 | 2,316 | ||
| R | 396 | 1,235 | 2,130 | ||
| D | 1,109 | 1,055 | 2,235 | ||
| D | 1,160 | 955 | 2,164 | ||
| O | 819 | 125 | 1,971 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
44.1%
Irish
9.7%
English
8.8%
American
4.5%
Scottish
2.8%
Italian
2.5%
French
2.4%
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: 40.2 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
$78,631
Kearney County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Kearney County$78,631
Nebraska$76,475
United States$80,734
Kearney 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
7.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 188.0%
Working age (18–64)7.4%
Seniors (65+)3.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.8%
speak English only
Spanish5.4%
Other Indo-European0.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
With fewer than 7,000 residents spread across the Republican River watershed, Kearney County has delivered double-digit GOP margins in every recent presidential cycle, hitting R+58 in 2024 — among the widest gaps in the state.
The Republican margin here reached sixty points in 2016. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-eight points.
A population of 6,713, a 92% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $78,631 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Garden County and Arthur 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.
Kearney County, Nebraska. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/31099/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Kearney County, Nebraska vote in 2024?
In 2024, Kearney County, Nebraska voted Republican by 57.9 points (R+58), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 3,615 votes cast, 736 went Democratic and 2,828 went Republican.
What is Kearney County, Nebraska's political typology?
Akashic places Kearney County, Nebraska in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. 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 8 times, Republican 25 times, and other 1 times.
When did Kearney County, Nebraska last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Kearney County, Nebraska voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Kearney County, Nebraska?
Kearney County, Nebraska has a population of 6,713 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Kearney County, Nebraska?
Median household income in Kearney County, Nebraska is $78,631 — below the national median of $80,734. The Nebraska state median is $76,475.
What is the political history of Kearney County, Nebraska?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Kearney County, Nebraska from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.