Wayne County, NE

County

Add Comparison

2024 Population

9,844

US Senator

Deb Fischer

Republican Party

US Senator

Pete Ricketts

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

5.06% 1-year decrease

2024 Poverty Rate

13.2%

0.0392% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$66,215

2.17% 1-year decline

2024 Median Property Value

$221,600

8.79% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

5,198

2.35% 1-year decline

About

None of the households in Wayne County, NE reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

95.6% of the residents in Wayne County, NE are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Wayne County, NE are Wayne State College (1,000 degrees awarded in 2023).

In 2024, the median property value in Wayne County, NE was $221,600, and the homeownership rate was 61.3%.

Most people in Wayne County, NE drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 13.4 minutes. The average car ownership in Wayne County, NE was 2 cars per household.

Wayne County, NE borders Cedar County, NE, Cuming County, NE, Dixon County, NE, Madison County, NE, Pierce County, NE, Stanton County, NE, and Thurston County, NE.

United States Nebraska

Population & Diversity

Wayne County, NE is home to a population of 9.84k people, from which 95.6% are citizens. As of 2024, 6.05% of Wayne County, NE residents were born outside of the country (596 people).

In 2024, there were 17.5 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (8.41k people) in Wayne County, NE than any other race or ethnicity. There were 479 Other (Hispanic) and 408 Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

95.6%

2024 Citizenship

96.2%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 95.6% of Wayne County, NE residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Wayne County, NE was 96.2%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Wayne County, NE compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Wayne County, NE

White (Non-Hispanic)
8.41k ± 16
Other (Hispanic)
479 ± 271
Two Races Including Other (Hispanic)
408 ± 252

10.3%

Hispanic Population

1.01k people

10.3% of the people in Wayne County, NE are hispanic (1.01k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Wayne County, NE as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for Nebraska.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
46,760 ± 5,245 people
Guatemala
11,721 ± 2,650 people
El Salvador
6,922 ± 2,039 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Nebraska was Mexico, the natal country of 46,760 Nebraska residents, followed by Guatemala with 11,721 and El Salvador with 6,922.

Foreign-Born Population

6.05%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

596 people

5.52%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

540 people

As of 2024, 6.05% of Wayne County, NE residents (596 people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Wayne County, NE was 5.52%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Wayne County, NE compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
117 ± 58
Gulf War (1990s)
57 ± 52
Gulf War (2001-)
55 ± 49

Wayne County, NE has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 2.05 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Wayne County, NE.

Economy

The economy of Wayne County, NE employs 5.2k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Wayne County, NE were Health Care & Social Assistance (820 people), Educational Services (814 people), and Manufacturing (591 people), and the highest paying industries were Wholesale Trade ($80,114), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting ($60,455), and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($60,440).

Employment

Occupations

5.2k

2024 Value

± 484

−2.35%

1 Year decline

± 13.5%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Wayne County, NE declined at a rate of −2.35%, from 5.32k employees to 5.2k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Wayne County, NE, are Management Occupations (774 people), Production Occupations (516 people), and Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations (488 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Wayne County, NE.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Nebraska.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Nebraska (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

5.2k

2024 Value

± 484

−2.35%

1 Year decline

± 13.5%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Wayne County, NE declined at a rate of −2.35%, from 5.32k employees to 5.2k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Wayne County, NE, are Health Care & Social Assistance (820 people), Educational Services (814 people), and Manufacturing (591 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Wayne County, NE, though some of these residents may live in Wayne County, NE and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$40,345

Median earning men ± $6,444

$30,939

Median earning women ± $2,453

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Wholesale Trade ($80,568), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($61,690), and Manufacturing ($59,034).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Construction ($43,750), Other Services Except Public Administration ($38,125), and Public Administration ($37,500).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Nebraska.

Y-Axis

2.25%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 1.03M people employed in Nebraska. This represents a 2.25% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 8.87%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Nebraska.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

22
Construction
19
Other Services (except Public Administration)
14
Retail Trade

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$42.7k
Manufacturing
$21.2k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$9.3k
Wholesale Trade

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Nebraska went to Donald J. Trump with 59.3% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (38.9%), followed by Other (0.849%).

Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts are the senators currently representing the state of Nebraska. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Nebraska is currently represented by 3 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Wayne County, NE. Showing the available data for Nebraska.

2024 Election Results

Donald J. Trump (59.3%)
Republican Party
Kamala Harris (38.9%)
Democratic Party
Other (0.849%)
Other Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Nebraska went to Donald J. Trump with 59.3% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (38.9%), followed by Other (0.849%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Nebraska for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from Nebraska

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Nebraska.

Deb Fischer

Senator from Nebraska

Assumed office on January 3, 2013

Pete Ricketts

Senator from Nebraska

Assumed office on January 12, 2023
Appointed to the seat on January 12, 2023 following the resignation of Ben Sasse.

Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts are the senators currently representing Nebraska.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Nebraska over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

Education

In 2023, universities in Wayne County, NE awarded 1,000 degrees. The student population of Wayne County, NE in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 1,871 male students and 2,936 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Wayne County, NE are White (832 and 85.2%), Hispanic or Latino (79 and 8.09%), Two or More Races (24 and 2.46%), and Unknown (13 and 1.33%).

The largest universities in Wayne County, NE by number of degrees awarded are Wayne State College (1,000 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Wayne County, NE are General Business Administration & Management (194 and 19.4%), Criminal Justice - Safety Studies (77 and 7.7%), and Elementary Education & Teaching (71 and 7.1%).

The median tuition cost for a public four year colleges is $5,760 for in-state students and $5,760 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Enrollments by Gender and Races

In 2023 there were 4,807 students enrolled in Wayne County, NE, 38.9% men and 61.1% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 3,725 records, of which 62.1% were women and 37.9% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Business Administration & Management
155 degrees awarded
Criminal Justice - Safety Studies
77 degrees awarded
Elementary Education & Teaching
71 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Wayne County, NE was General Business Administration & Management with 155 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Wayne County, NE according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Wayne State College

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

1,000 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Wayne State College with 1,000 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

In 2023, 366 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Wayne County, NE, which is 0.577 times less than the 634 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 832 degrees mean that there were 10.5 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 79 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Public, 4-year or above ($5,760) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($2,163) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,390) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Wayne County, NE was $221,600 in 2024, which is 0.666 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $203,700 to $221,600, a 8.79% increase. The homeownership rate in Wayne County, NE is 61.3%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Wayne County, NE have an average commute time of 13.4 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Wayne County, NE is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 15.6% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Wayne County, NE. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 6.61%.

Housing

Property

$221,600

Median Property Value 2024

±$18,011

$2,299

Median Property Taxes

±$289

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Wayne County, NE the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Wayne County, NE compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

61.3%

Homeownership

2024

64.4%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 61.3% of the housing units in Wayne County, NE were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 68%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Wayne County, NE compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$66,215

Median Household Income

± $5,612

3.75k

Number of Households

± 425

In 2024, the median household income of the 3.75k households in Wayne County, NE declined from $66,215 from the previous year's value of $67,687.

The following chart displays the households in Wayne County, NE distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Wayne County, NE is from Nebraska.

0.447

2023 Wage GINI in Nebraska

0.444

2022 Wage GINI in Nebraska

In 2023, the income inequality in Nebraska was 0.447 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.606% growth from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat less even. The GINI for Nebraska was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Nebraska in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Nebraska across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (70.9%)
Worked At Home (14%)
Walked (9.32%)

In 2024, 70.9% of workers in Wayne County, NE drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (14%) and those who walked to work (9.32%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

13.4 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Wayne County, NE have a shorter commute time (13.4 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 0.889% of the workforce in Wayne County, NE have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Wayne County, NE compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Wayne County, NE distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Wayne County, NE have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 15.6% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Wayne County, NE. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 6.61%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

13.2% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Wayne County, NE (1.11k out of 8.39k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 18 - 24, followed by Males 18 - 24 and then Females 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Wayne County, NE is White, followed by Two Or More and Hispanic.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 10% of the children was living in poverty in Wayne County, NE. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 2.9%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2016, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 104 in Wayne County, NE. From 2014 to 2016, the indicator grew 29.9 per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

Health

94.2% of the population of Wayne County, NE has health coverage, with 54.9% on employee plans, 8.62% on Medicaid, 13.2% on Medicare, 14.6% on non-group plans, and 2.9% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Wayne County, NE see 1,631 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,631 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1974 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 1234 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 51.2% were men and 48.8% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

1,631 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Wayne County, NE

Primary care physicians in Wayne County, NE see an average of 1,631 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,631 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Wayne County, NE in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 24.2% under 18 years, 30.8% between 18 and 34 years, 28.5% between 35 and 64 years, and 16.5% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 51.2% were men and 48.8% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

5.78%

Uninsured

54.9%

Employer Coverage

8.62%

Medicaid

13.2%

Medicare

14.6%

Non-Group

2.9%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Wayne County, NE grew by 12.3% from 5.14% to 5.78%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Wayne County, NE changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.