Fastest Growing Counties in Nebraska (2026)

County
Rank
Change (2020) ↓
2026 Pop.
2020 Pop.
Sarpy County110.94%212,087191,179
Frontier County27.94%2,7052,506
Saunders County37.13%23,96022,365
Blaine County46.53%457429
Douglas County54.54%612,017585,428
Cass County64.52%27,81326,610
Wayne County74.48%10,1409,705
Otoe County84.31%16,59015,904
York County94.24%14,69214,095
Lancaster County104.2%336,757323,178
Merrick County114.02%7,9647,656
Platte County123.9%35,64134,302
Colfax County133.74%10,95410,559
Banner County143.39%702679
Hamilton County153.37%9,7239,406
Seward County163.12%18,17417,624
Dodge County172.92%38,18337,099
Madison County182.49%36,41935,533
Butler County192.3%8,5478,355
Kimball County202.2%3,4843,409
Sioux County212.18%1,1711,146
Keya Paha County222.11%776760
Clay County232.05%6,2266,101
Buffalo County242.03%51,21850,197
Thurston County252.01%6,8956,759
Saline County262.01%15,01214,716
Kearney County271.9%6,8176,690
Washington County281.84%21,31720,932
Wheeler County291.68%786773
Cherry County301.67%5,5485,457
Valley County311.6%4,1234,058
Dakota County321.56%21,88021,544
Deuel County331.53%1,8611,833
Dawson County341.22%24,37724,083
Perkins County351.12%2,8912,859
Hall County360.97%63,37562,767
Pierce County370.86%7,4077,344
Howard County380.82%6,5406,487
Dixon County390.75%5,6235,581
Polk County400.75%5,2535,214
Antelope County410.75%6,3346,287
Cedar County420.35%8,4028,373
Gage County430.34%21,73421,661
Cheyenne County440.32%9,5189,488
Nuckolls County450.27%4,1044,093
Nemaha County460.2%7,1007,086
Custer County47-0.12%10,48310,496
Phelps County48-0.22%8,9588,978
Holt County49-0.27%10,06810,095
Adams County50-0.76%30,93931,176
Boone County51-0.76%5,3205,361
Rock County52-0.95%1,2561,268
Knox County53-0.97%8,2968,377
Johnson County54-1%5,2395,292
Furnas County55-1.02%4,5774,624
Webster County56-1.24%3,3473,389
Pawnee County57-1.3%2,5032,536
Burt County58-1.35%6,6306,721
Scotts Bluff County59-1.48%35,51436,046
Stanton County60-2.03%5,7055,823
Fillmore County61-2.1%5,4505,567
Sherman County62-2.2%2,8952,960
Harlan County63-2.35%2,9863,058
Greeley County64-2.66%2,1252,183
Nance County65-2.89%3,2943,392
Brown County66-3.03%2,8142,902
Cuming County67-3.06%8,7359,011
Keith County68-3.41%8,0398,323
Lincoln County69-3.51%33,32134,534
Jefferson County70-3.72%6,9907,260
Franklin County71-4.02%2,7692,885
Thayer County72-4.22%4,8105,022
Morrill County73-4.24%4,3614,554
Chase County74-4.39%3,7203,891
Red Willow County75-4.43%10,20910,682
Hooker County76-4.53%674706
Box Butte County77-4.56%10,32810,821
Garfield County78-4.76%1,7211,807
Garden County79-4.87%1,7971,889
Richardson County80-5.02%7,4677,862
Hayes County81-5.19%804848
Dundy County82-5.26%1,5671,654
Dawes County83-5.59%7,7018,157
Gosper County84-6.12%1,7791,895
Thomas County85-6.26%629671
Hitchcock County86-6.63%2,4492,623
Sheridan County87-7.53%4,7185,102
Logan County88-8.01%655712
McPherson County89-8.08%364396
Grant County90-8.66%559612
Loup County91-8.73%554607
Boyd County92-9.94%1,6301,810
Arthur County93-12.79%375430

Nebraska Counties Growth Overview

Nebraska's counties show varied growth patterns from 2020 to 2026. Sarpy County leads with 1.74% annualized growth, followed by Frontier County (1.28%) and Saunders County (1.15%). The largest counties are Douglas County (612,017), Lancaster County (336,757), and Sarpy County (212,087). Of the 93 counties in Nebraska, 46 are growing while 47 have experienced population decline. Overall, counties averaged -0.13% annualized growth, with total population growing by 0.56% annually.

Change (2020)

-0.05

-0.025

0

0.025

0.05

0.075