Saline County, Nebraska

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Saline County
County
County of Saline
Saline County Courthouse in Wilber
Interactive map of Saline County
Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Established	March 16, 1855
Organized	February 18, 1867
County seat	Wilber
Largest city	Crete
Area
• Total	576 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Land	574 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Water	2.3 sq mi (6 km2)

Saline County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 14,292. Its county seat is Wilber.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Saline County is represented by the prefix 22 (it had the twenty-second-largest number of vehicles registered in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Saline County was formed in 1855 and organized in 1867. The first permanent settler arrived in 1858.

Geography

The terrain of Saline County is composed of low rolling hills, sloping to the east-southeast. Most of the county's area is devoted to agriculture. The Big Blue River flows southward in the eastern part of the county. The middle and southern parts of the county are drained by Swan Creek and Turkey Creek, which combine and discharge into Big Blue River at the county's east boundary line close to its SE corner. The county has an area of 576 square miles (1,490 km²), of which 574 square miles (1,490 km²) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²) (0.4%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 6
• Nebraska Highway 15
• Nebraska Highway 33
• Nebraska Highway 41
• Nebraska Highway 74
• Nebraska Highway 103

Adjacent counties

• Lancaster County – northeast
• Gage County – southeast
• Jefferson County – south
• Thayer County – southwest
• Fillmore County – west
• York County – northwest
• Seward County – north

Protected areas

• Willard Meyer Natural Resource District - Swan Lake

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	39		—
1870	3,106		7,864.1%
1880	14,491		366.5%
1890	20,097		38.7%
1900	18,252		−9.2%
1910	17,866		−2.1%
1920	16,514		−7.6%
1930	16,536		0.1%
1940	15,010		−9.2%
1950	14,046		−6.4%
1960	12,542		−10.7%
1970	12,809		2.1%
1980	13,131		2.5%
1990	12,715		−3.2%
2000	13,843		8.9%
2010	14,200		2.6%
US Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 13,843 people, 5,188 households, and 3,507 families in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 5,611 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.99% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 0.38% Native American, 1.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.40% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. 6.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,188 households, out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.50% were married couples living together, 7.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 27.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.04.

The county population contained 25.10% under the age of 18, 12.30% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 20.30% from 45 to 64, and 17.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,914, and the median income for a family was $44,199. Males had a median income of $30,467 versus $22,690 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,287. About 6.40% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.90% of those under age 18 and 9.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Crete
• Friend
• Wilber (county seat)

Villages

• De Witt
• Dorchester
• Swanton
• Tobias
• Western

Unincorporated communities

• Berks
• Pleasant Hill
• Shestak

Politics

Saline County was formerly strongly Democratic, voting Republican only four times between 1900 and 1968. From 1972 to 2012, it was considered a swing county in presidential elections, supporting the national winner in every election except 1988 and 2012 and consistently voting similarly to the national popular vote. However, in 2016, the county swung to the right, and since that election has weighed in as more than 20 percentage points more Republican than the nation.

United States presidential election results for Saline County, Nebraska

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	3,631	62.82%	1,986	34.36%	163	2.82%
2016	3,004	58.49%	1,733	33.74%	399	7.77%
2012	2,557	51.57%	2,289	46.17%	112	2.26%
2008	2,434	46.35%	2,674	50.92%	143	2.72%
2004	3,071	55.17%	2,420	43.48%	75	1.35%
2000	2,581	50.17%	2,321	45.11%	243	4.72%
1996	1,945	37.58%	2,523	48.75%	707	13.66%
1992	1,740	30.18%	2,425	42.06%	1,600	27.75%
1988	2,355	42.75%	3,125	56.73%	29	0.53%
1984	2,942	54.54%	2,385	44.22%	67	1.24%
1980	2,934	54.17%	1,908	35.23%	574	10.60%
1976	2,330	41.15%	3,205	56.61%	127	2.24%
1972	2,828	51.59%	2,654	48.41%	0	0.00%
1968	2,341	44.73%	2,543	48.59%	350	6.69%
1964	1,780	30.14%	4,125	69.86%	0	0.00%
1960	2,881	44.99%	3,523	55.01%	0	0.00%
1956	3,248	48.89%	3,395	51.11%	0	0.00%
1952	4,221	60.19%	2,792	39.81%	0	0.00%
1948	2,641	42.33%	3,598	57.67%	0	0.00%
1944	3,255	45.50%	3,899	54.50%	0	0.00%
1940	3,673	46.48%	4,229	53.52%	0	0.00%
1936	2,637	32.14%	5,480	66.78%	89	1.08%
1932	1,993	25.24%	5,831	73.85%	72	0.91%
1928	3,347	45.67%	3,955	53.97%	26	0.35%
1924	2,834	43.10%	3,123	47.49%	619	9.41%
1920	3,197	58.67%	2,172	39.86%	80	1.47%
1916	1,469	35.10%	2,646	63.23%	70	1.67%
1912	1,185	29.74%	1,942	48.73%	858	21.53%
1908	2,048	46.48%	2,249	51.04%	109	2.47%
1904	2,390	61.38%	1,108	28.45%	396	10.17%
1900	2,238	51.31%	2,018	46.26%	106	2.43%
1896	2,068	49.50%	2,004	47.97%	106	2.54%
1892	1,704	46.68%	500	13.70%	1,446	39.62%
1888	2,109	50.84%	1,746	42.09%	293	7.06%
1884	2,167	56.05%	1,608	41.59%	91	2.35%
1880	1,841	62.53%	997	33.87%	106	3.60%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Saline County, Nebraska

External links

• County website
• Saline County at Curlie