Dawes County, Nebraska

Dawes County, Nebraska
Dawes County Courthouse in Chadron, Nebraska
Location in the state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location in the U.S.
Founded	1885
Seat	Chadron
Largest city	Chadron
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,401 sq mi (3,629 km²)   5 sq mi (13 km²), 0.33%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	9,182 8/sq mi (3/km²)
Website	www.co.dawes.ne.us

Dawes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of 2010, the population was 9,182. Its county seat is Chadron.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Dawes County is represented by the prefix 69 (it had the sixty-ninth-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,401 square miles (3,628.6 km²), of which 1,396 square miles (3,615.6 km²) is land and 5 square miles (12.9 km²) (0.33%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 20
• U.S. Highway 385
• Nebraska Highway 2
• Nebraska Highway 71

Adjacent counties

• Shannon County, South Dakota - northeast
• Sheridan County, Nebraska - east
• Box Butte County, Nebraska - south
• Sioux County, Nebraska - west
• Fall River County, South Dakota - northwest

National protected areas

• Nebraska National Forest (part)
• Oglala National Grassland (part)
• Pine Ridge National Recreation Area

History

Dawes County was formed in 1885. It was named after Governor James W. Dawes.

Demographics

Dawes County Population by decade

1890 - 9,722 1900 - 6,215 1910 - 8,254 1920 - 10,160 1930 - 11,493 1940 - 10,128 1950 - 9,708 1960 - 9,536 1970 - 9,761 1980 - 9,609 1990 - 9,021 2000 - 9,060 2010 - 9,182

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,060 people, 3,512 households, and 2,086 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 4,004 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.34% White, 0.81% Black or African American, 2.88% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.03% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. 2.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.0% were of German, 9.9% English, 9.2% Irish and 7.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 3,512 households out of which 26.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.50% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.60% were non-families. 31.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the county the population was spread out with 21.20% under the age of 18, 23.40% from 18 to 24, 20.40% from 25 to 44, 20.30% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,476, and the median income for a family was $41,092. Males had a median income of $29,162 versus $17,404 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,353. About 9.80% of families and 18.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.40% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Chadron
• Crawford

Village

• Whitney

Other Places

• Marsland
• Belmont

See also

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