Cherry County, Nebraska


Cherry County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 5,455. Its county seat is Valentine. The county was named for Lt. Samuel A. Cherry, an Army officer who was stationed at Fort Niobrara and was killed in South Dakota in 1881. Cherry County is in the Nebraska Sandhills. It is the state's largest county, at nearly, larger than three states, Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut. In the Nebraska license plate system, Cherry County is represented by the prefix 66.

Geography

Cherry County lies on the north side of Nebraska. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of South Dakota. According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of, of which is land and is water. It is by far Nebraska's largest county in land area and larger than the state of Connecticut, or the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. The county is in Nebraska's Sandhills region; the dunes that give the region its name are a result of the most recent glacial period, the Pinedale glaciation. During the Holocene glacial retreat, the dunes, which had been deposited by the vast continental glaciers, were exposed, and grasses eventually took over.

Major highways

Nebraska's largest county by area, Cherry County borders 11 counties, more than any other county in Nebraska. Seven of them are in Nebraska and four in South Dakota. The adjacent counties are:

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 5,455. The median age was 43.4 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.4 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 88.5% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 5.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.6% from some other race, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.7% of the population.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,427 households in the county, of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 2,979 housing units, of which 18.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.1% were owner-occupied and 34.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.1%.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census, there were 6,148 people, 2,508 households, and 1,710 families in the county. The population density was. There were 3,220 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 94.19% White, 0.07% Black or African American, 3.25% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.72% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.5% were of German, 12.6% English, 11.1% Irish and 7.3% American ancestry.
There were 2,508 households, out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.98.
The county population contained 27.00% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,268, and the median income for a family was $36,500. Males had a median income of $23,705 versus $17,277 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,943. About 9.60% of families and 12.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.40% of those under age 18 and 14.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Cherry County residents observe two time zones, Central and Mountain. The eastern third of the county, including county seat Valentine, is in the Central Time Zone, while the western two thirds, including Merriman, are in the Mountain Time Zone.

Politics

Cherry County voters are reliably Republican. The county has not voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 landslide, and even then, the county was decided by less than four points. Republicans have carried the county by a double-digit margin in every presidential election since, and no Democratic nominee since Harry S. Truman in 1948 has even mustered 40% of the vote. Republicans also hold a massive advantage in voter registration in Cherry County, with 2,947, as opposed to 325 registered Democrats.