County Maps US

Dawes County, Nebraska

A county in Nebraska, ranked 37 of 93 by population.

CountyFIPS 31045

Within Nebraska
Dawes County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Chadron, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
7,858
-299 (-3.7%) since 2020
Land area
1,396
square miles. A further 0.3% of the total area is water
Population density
5.6
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Chadron
Seat of county government.
Established
1885
140 years ago
Largest city
Chadron city
Population 4,975.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Dawes County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Dawes County, Nebraska from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 767 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Dawes County ranks

Position among the 93 counties of Nebraska, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn NebraskaNationally
Population7,85837th of 932,584th of 3,144
Land area1,396 sq mi9th of 93432nd of 3,144
Population density5.6 per sq mi58th of 932,740th of 3,144
Median household income$56,28088th of 932,393rd of 3,143

Full data for Dawes County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population7,858Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 20208,157Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?8,198Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area1,396 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area4.5 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area1,401 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?5.6 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$56,280American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$150,900American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age35.8American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households3,453American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units4,037American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-31
67 births, 98 deaths
Net migration
-124
More people moved out than moved in.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 5 areas bordering Dawes County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Sioux CountyNebraska42 mi1,188
Sheridan CountyNebraska40 mi4,809
Box Butte CountyNebraska34 mi10,494
Fall River CountySouth Dakota26 mi7,467
Oglala Lakota CountySouth Dakota11 mi13,338

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 93 counties of Nebraska

Open the interactive Nebraska county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.