county

Phelps County, NE

Demographic and economic profile of Phelps County, NE, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Phelps County is a small, agriculturally oriented Nebraska county with a population of 8,983 that has edged down 1.5% over five years, supporting a labor force with a 1.2% unemployment rate and median worker earnings of $41,086. About 26.7% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while housing remains accessible at a median home value of $173,300 and median gross rent of $724 per month. GDP per capita of $87,784 runs well above median household income of $68,919, pointing to productive output relative to local wages, with a mean commute of 14.7 minutes reflecting the county's compact, rural character.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

8,983

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$68,919

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.5% since 2018

Phelps County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone8,117 (90.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race553 (6.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races121 (1.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone78 (0.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone77 (0.9%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone41 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish348
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic39
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)18
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic2

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

537

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$87,784

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$39,646

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

1.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

13.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,262
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining549
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)549
  4. 4.Construction (Group)431
  5. 5.Retail Trade (Group)287

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,527
  2. 2.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations936
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations784
  4. 4.Service Occupations739
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations625

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 7.49×)537
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.43×)148
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.35×)602
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.26×)392
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.20×)256

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$173,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$724/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

68.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999386 (14.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999291 (10.9%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999289 (10.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999275 (10.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999254 (9.5%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999247 (9.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

26.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

64.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,086

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

14.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone3,794 (82.9%)
  • Carpooled346 (7.6%)
  • Worked At Home257 (5.6%)
  • Walked141 (3.1%)
  • Other34 (0.7%)
  • Bicycle3 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.