| County | Rank | Change (2020) ↓ | 2026 Pop. | 2020 Pop. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine County | 1 | 16.82% | 500 | 428 |
| Keya Paha County | 2 | 11.71% | 849 | 760 |
| Sarpy County | 3 | 11.69% | 213,530 | 191,181 |
| Wheeler County | 4 | 9.68% | 850 | 775 |
| Platte County | 5 | 6.23% | 36,429 | 34,291 |
| Otoe County | 6 | 6.12% | 16,877 | 15,903 |
| Logan County | 7 | 5.85% | 760 | 718 |
| Lancaster County | 8 | 5.51% | 340,983 | 323,171 |
| Douglas County | 9 | 5.25% | 616,184 | 585,451 |
| Colfax County | 10 | 5.02% | 11,086 | 10,556 |
| Merrick County | 11 | 4.69% | 8,019 | 7,660 |
| Hooker County | 12 | 4.67% | 740 | 707 |
| Deuel County | 13 | 4.64% | 1,918 | 1,833 |
| Dodge County | 14 | 4.25% | 38,698 | 37,121 |
| Saunders County | 15 | 4.05% | 23,276 | 22,370 |
| Buffalo County | 16 | 3.73% | 52,076 | 50,204 |
| Cass County | 17 | 3.58% | 27,560 | 26,608 |
| Antelope County | 18 | 3.39% | 6,492 | 6,279 |
| Dawson County | 19 | 3.3% | 24,876 | 24,082 |
| Polk County | 20 | 3.16% | 5,383 | 5,218 |
| Cherry County | 21 | 2.99% | 5,620 | 5,457 |
| Hamilton County | 22 | 2.49% | 9,636 | 9,402 |
| Cheyenne County | 23 | 2.34% | 9,708 | 9,486 |
| Seward County | 24 | 2.3% | 18,015 | 17,610 |
| Washington County | 25 | 2.26% | 21,398 | 20,926 |
| Adams County | 26 | 2.01% | 31,804 | 31,176 |
| York County | 27 | 1.76% | 14,353 | 14,105 |
| Howard County | 28 | 1.57% | 6,588 | 6,486 |
| Kearney County | 29 | 1.51% | 6,793 | 6,692 |
| Wayne County | 30 | 1.48% | 9,846 | 9,702 |
| Saline County | 31 | 1.38% | 14,918 | 14,715 |
| Boone County | 32 | 1.21% | 5,422 | 5,357 |
| Arthur County | 33 | 1.16% | 437 | 432 |
| Hayes County | 34 | 1.06% | 858 | 849 |
| Butler County | 35 | 0.92% | 8,433 | 8,356 |
| Hall County | 36 | 0.82% | 63,291 | 62,776 |
| Pierce County | 37 | 0.68% | 7,394 | 7,344 |
| Gage County | 38 | 0.62% | 21,787 | 21,652 |
| Thurston County | 39 | 0.41% | 6,787 | 6,759 |
| Pawnee County | 40 | 0% | 2,541 | 2,541 |
| Burt County | 41 | -0.04% | 6,721 | 6,724 |
| Nuckolls County | 42 | -0.37% | 4,076 | 4,091 |
| Holt County | 43 | -0.48% | 10,056 | 10,105 |
| Valley County | 44 | -0.49% | 4,038 | 4,058 |
| Phelps County | 45 | -0.55% | 8,928 | 8,977 |
| Cuming County | 46 | -0.63% | 8,954 | 9,011 |
| Jefferson County | 47 | -0.63% | 7,214 | 7,260 |
| Madison County | 48 | -0.7% | 35,283 | 35,530 |
| Scotts Bluff County | 49 | -0.81% | 35,760 | 36,051 |
| Brown County | 50 | -0.9% | 2,877 | 2,903 |
| Cedar County | 51 | -0.9% | 8,298 | 8,373 |
| Nemaha County | 52 | -1.06% | 7,010 | 7,085 |
| Dakota County | 53 | -1.07% | 21,325 | 21,556 |
| Greeley County | 54 | -1.1% | 2,155 | 2,179 |
| Box Butte County | 55 | -1.11% | 10,699 | 10,819 |
| Dixon County | 56 | -1.2% | 5,518 | 5,585 |
| Johnson County | 57 | -1.28% | 5,227 | 5,295 |
| Clay County | 58 | -1.46% | 6,021 | 6,110 |
| Sherman County | 59 | -1.56% | 2,907 | 2,953 |
| Knox County | 60 | -1.86% | 8,236 | 8,392 |
| Fillmore County | 61 | -1.99% | 5,458 | 5,569 |
| Franklin County | 62 | -2.18% | 2,827 | 2,890 |
| Dundy County | 63 | -2.3% | 1,613 | 1,651 |
| Keith County | 64 | -2.31% | 8,134 | 8,326 |
| Custer County | 65 | -2.43% | 10,237 | 10,492 |
| Thayer County | 66 | -2.47% | 4,900 | 5,024 |
| Webster County | 67 | -3.01% | 3,290 | 3,392 |
| Harlan County | 68 | -3.01% | 2,962 | 3,054 |
| Chase County | 69 | -3.06% | 3,770 | 3,889 |
| Stanton County | 70 | -3.5% | 5,618 | 5,822 |
| Richardson County | 71 | -3.54% | 7,582 | 7,860 |
| Morrill County | 72 | -3.62% | 4,393 | 4,558 |
| Frontier County | 73 | -3.64% | 2,412 | 2,503 |
| Sheridan County | 74 | -3.66% | 4,917 | 5,104 |
| Kimball County | 75 | -3.67% | 3,283 | 3,408 |
| Banner County | 76 | -3.69% | 653 | 678 |
| Nance County | 77 | -3.83% | 3,264 | 3,394 |
| Lincoln County | 78 | -4.32% | 33,043 | 34,535 |
| Perkins County | 79 | -4.47% | 2,733 | 2,861 |
| Garden County | 80 | -4.5% | 1,804 | 1,889 |
| Red Willow County | 81 | -4.5% | 10,203 | 10,684 |
| Rock County | 82 | -4.74% | 1,205 | 1,265 |
| Grant County | 83 | -5.03% | 585 | 616 |
| Dawes County | 84 | -5.35% | 7,719 | 8,155 |
| Loup County | 85 | -5.45% | 572 | 605 |
| McPherson County | 86 | -5.56% | 374 | 396 |
| Furnas County | 87 | -7.3% | 4,294 | 4,632 |
| Gosper County | 88 | -7.65% | 1,750 | 1,895 |
| Boyd County | 89 | -10.04% | 1,622 | 1,803 |
| Garfield County | 90 | -11.08% | 1,605 | 1,805 |
| Sioux County | 91 | -12.8% | 995 | 1,141 |
| Hitchcock County | 92 | -13.01% | 2,280 | 2,621 |
| Thomas County | 93 | -18.1% | 552 | 674 |
Nebraska's counties show varied growth patterns from 2020 to 2026. Blaine County leads with 2.63% annualized growth, followed by Keya Paha County (1.86%) and Sarpy County (1.86%). The largest counties are Douglas County (616,184), Lancaster County (340,983), and Sarpy County (213,530). Of the 93 counties in Nebraska, 40 are growing while 53 have experienced population decline. Overall, counties averaged -0.09% annualized growth, with total population growing by 0.65% annually.
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