County Maps US

Dawson County, Nebraska

A county in Nebraska, ranked 13 of 93 by population.

CountyFIPS 31047

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

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Population
24,452
+369 (+1.5%) since 2020
Land area
1,014
square miles. A further 0.6% of the total area is water
Population density
24.1
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Lexington
Seat of county government.
Established
1860
165 years ago
Largest city
Lexington city
Population 11,176.

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 Dawson 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 Dawson 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 800 by 526 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 Dawson 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
Population24,45213th of 931,639th of 3,144
Land area1,014 sq mi15th of 93662nd of 3,144
Population density24.1 per sq mi21st of 932,090th of 3,144
Median household income$69,88040th of 931,204th of 3,143

Full data for Dawson County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population24,452Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202024,083Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?24,106Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area1,014 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area5.6 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area1,019 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?24.1 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$69,880American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$166,200American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age35.6American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households9,145American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units9,958American 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
+145
337 births, 192 deaths
Net migration
-217
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 6 areas bordering Dawson 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
Custer CountyNebraska42 mi10,500
Buffalo CountyNebraska26 mi51,172
Lincoln CountyNebraska24 mi33,303
Gosper CountyNebraska18 mi1,803
Frontier CountyNebraska13 mi2,655
Phelps CountyNebraska12 mi8,994

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.