county

Wayne County, NE

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

AI Overview

Wayne County, NE has a population of 9,786 and has grown 4.5% over five years, with a notably young median age of 30.0 years and a low unemployment rate of 3.4%. The labor force participation rate stands at 68.5%, with 29.4% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $28,917. Housing costs are low—median home value of $203,700 and median gross rent of $732/month—while a mean commute of 14.1 minutes reflects the county's compact, rural scale.

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

Population

9,786

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$66,215

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

30.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+4.5% since 2018

Wayne County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone8,496 (86.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone479 (4.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race418 (4.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races230 (2.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone101 (1.0%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone90 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish714
  2. 2.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)48
  3. 3.Korean35
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island24
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic22

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

63.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

6.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

289

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$67,745

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,864

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

13.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,634
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)591
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)563
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining537
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services516

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,843
  2. 2.Service Occupations1,180
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations956
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations880
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations339

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.42×)460
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.40×)1,739
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.23×)574
  4. 4.Manufacturing (LQ 1.14×)603
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.02×)318

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$203,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$732/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

61.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999422 (18.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999363 (15.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999230 (10.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999216 (9.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999177 (7.7%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999168 (7.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

29.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

95.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

68.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$28,917

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

13.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone3,522 (70.9%)
  • Worked At Home693 (14.0%)
  • Walked463 (9.3%)
  • Carpooled251 (5.1%)
  • Bicycle23 (0.5%)
  • Other11 (0.2%)

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.