Wayne County, Nebraska Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Wayne County, NE Population Density Map and Area Scores

Area Score

Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.

  • A
    Health Above average
    Healthiest county in Nebraska
  • C
    Income Below average
    Less wealthy than 77% of counties in Nebraska
  • C
    Education Below average
    Better educated than 91% of counties in Nebraska

Source: Map AI Methodology

Wayne County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Wayne County Nebraska Avg U.S. Average
Population 9,844 1,978,686 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 22.2 25.6 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) 0.56% 0.63% 0.59%
Median age 30.1 38.3 37.3
Households 3,753 797,835 130,235,071

Population in Wayne County grew by 5.5% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9,844 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Wayne County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Wayne County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 35.6% of residents. That is 12.9 points above Nebraska as a whole.

Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Nebraska, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.

Male and female share

Women are 49.5% of the people living in Wayne County and men 50.5%.

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9,844

100% of everyone living in Wayne County

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Economy

Wayne County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.

Metric Wayne County Nebraska Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $67,430 $76,615 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 2.54% 4.27% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 4.3% 3.0% 5.2%

The median household income in Wayne County is about 12% lower than in Nebraska.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Wayne County Nebraska Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $54,545 $175,282 $248,835
Median rent $800 $1,071 $1,407
Homeownership rate 61.3% 66.5% 65.2%

The median home price in Wayne County is about 5.7 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $800 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Wayne County spend about 21 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 89 hours, about 3.7 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Wayne County Nebraska Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 10.7 17.0 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 21.4 34.0 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 89 142 187
Estimated yearly cost $2,768 $4,390 $5,790
Work from home 14.0% 11.1% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 2,938 5,179 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 568 691 1,355

Fastest commutes among counties in Nebraska: Hooker County (7.4 min), Cherry County (8.0 min), Box Butte County (8.0 min).
Slowest: Cass County (28.0 min), Banner County (27.2 min), Saunders County (26.9 min).

The average commute time in Wayne County is 11 minutes, shorter than the 17 minutes in Nebraska.

Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Wayne County has a education index of C, which means it is somewhat educated.

Metric Wayne County Nebraska Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 24.2% 30.8% 31.6%
Average household size 2.26 2.42 2.53

Highest education index among counties in Nebraska: Sarpy County (0.3), Lancaster County (0.3), Douglas County (0.3).
Lowest: Dakota County (0.2), Colfax County (0.2), Dawson County (0.2).

Health

Wayne County has a health index of A, which means it is very healthy.

Metric Wayne County Nebraska Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 81.7 79.5 78.3
Self-rated poor health 9.8% 12.9% 16.3%
Smokers 13.5% 16.6% 19.0%

Highest health index among counties in Nebraska: Wayne County (0.8), Sarpy County (0.8), Lancaster County (0.8).
Lowest: Thurston County (0.8), Pawnee County (0.8), Dundy County (0.8).

Full health data →

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Wayne County, Nebraska.

What is the population of Wayne County, Nebraska?

About 9,844 people live in Wayne County, Nebraska, in 3,753 households of 2.3 people on average. The median age is 30.1, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 7 years.

Is Wayne County, Nebraska urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Wayne County, Nebraska has 22 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 26% of the U.S. average of 86.

Is Wayne County, Nebraska an affordable place to live?

The median home costs 0.8 times the median household income ($54,545 against $67,430), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $800 a month takes about 14% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

How common is a college degree in Wayne County, Nebraska?

24.2% of adults in Wayne County, Nebraska hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 4), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

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