County Maps US

Merrick County, Nebraska

A county in Nebraska, ranked 36 of 93 by population.

CountyFIPS 31121

Within Nebraska
Merrick County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data.

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Population
7,905
+249 (+3.3%) since 2020
Land area
487.8
square miles. A further 1.8% of the total area is water
Population density
16.2
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Central City
Seat of county government.
Established
1858
167 years ago
Largest city
Central City city
Population 3,184.

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 Merrick 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 Merrick 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 790 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 Merrick 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
Population7,90536th of 932,581st of 3,144
Land area487.8 sq mi77th of 932,130th of 3,144
Population density16.2 per sq mi27th of 932,354th of 3,144
Median household income$68,35450th of 931,315th of 3,143

Full data for Merrick County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population7,905Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 20207,656Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?7,662Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area487.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area9.0 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area496.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?16.2 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$68,354American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$175,900American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age43.2American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households3,205American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units3,598American 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
-13
65 births, 78 deaths
Net migration
+72
More people moved in than moved out.

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

The 6 areas bordering Merrick 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
Nance CountyNebraska48 mi3,290
Hamilton CountyNebraska33 mi9,678
Howard CountyNebraska24 mi6,538
Polk CountyNebraska18 mi5,270
Hall CountyNebraska13 mi63,633
Platte CountyNebraska9.8 mi35,649

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.