County profile

Phelps County

Nebraska · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
9,009
Median household income
$68,919
People below poverty
12.2%
Median home value
$194,900

Income

The median income of households in Phelps County, Nebraska was $68,919. An estimated 5.7% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 8.6% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 5.7
$10,000 to $14,999 4.9
$15,000 to $24,999 10.4
$25,000 to $34,999 7.4
$35,000 to $49,999 10
$50,000 to $74,999 14.6
$75,000 to $99,999 12.1
$100,000 to $149,999 19.5
$150,000 to $199,999 6.8
$200,000 or more 8.6

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 57160
Female 46016

An estimated 75.5% of households received earnings. An estimated 31.7% of households received Social Security and an estimated 18.1 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $24,378. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 75.5
Social Security 31.7
Retirement income 18.1
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 4.3
Cash public assistance income 1.1

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 12.2 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 12.2% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 9.6% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 13.2% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 12.2
Children under 18 years below poverty 12.2
People 65 years old and over below poverty 9.6
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 13.2

In 2020-2024, 9.9 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 40.6% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 36.8% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 9% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024, 93.8% had health insurance coverage and 6.2% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 76.9% and public coverage was 32.7%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 6.3%.


In 2020-2024, Phelps County, Nebraska had a total population of 9,009 - 4,340 (48.2%) females and 4,669 (51.8%) males. The median age was 41.4 years. An estimated 24.3% of the population was under 18 years, 28.3% was 19 to 44 years, 23.8% was 45 to 64 years, and 21.2 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 327 284
5 to 9 292 318
10 to 14 389 232
15 to 19 342 209
20 to 24 281 234
25 to 29 257 217
30 to 34 321 278
35 to 39 203 196
40 to 44 296 271
45 to 49 223 231
50 to 54 246 221
55 to 59 288 284
60 to 64 343 316
65 to 69 237 247
70 to 74 274 235
75 to 79 126 201
80 to 84 124 127
85 and over 100 239

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 90.1% were White; 0.9% were Black or African American; 8.6% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.2% were Asian; 0.1% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 7.5% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 6.9% of the people in Phelps County, Nebraska were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 89.5% of the people in Phelps County, Nebraska were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 3,916 households in Phelps County, Nebraska. The average household size was 2.25 people.

Married-couple households made up 50.7% of the households in Phelps County, Nebraska while cohabiting couple households made up 6.3% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 21.9% of all households, while 21.1% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 15.8% of households were male householders living alone, and 18.2% were female householders living alone, for a total of 34% of all households.

In Phelps County, Nebraska, 24.3% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 32.6% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 50.7
Cohabiting Couples 6.3
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
21.1
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
21.9

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 55.4% of males and 58.2% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 30.2 19.2
Now married, except separated 55.4 58.2
Separated 0.9 0.4
Widowed 4 11.4
Divorced 9.5 10.8

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Phelps County, Nebraska, 54 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 68.5% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 98.1% of the people living in Phelps County, Nebraska were U.S. natives. 80.8% of the Phelps County, Nebraska population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 1.9% of Phelps County, Nebraska residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 38.2% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 72.3 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Phelps County, Nebraska come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Phelps County, Nebraska.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 74
Asia 0
Europe 8.1
Africa 12.7
Northern America 5.2
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024, 4.3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 3.7% of people at least five years old; 1.1% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 3.7
Other Indo-European languages 0.5
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0
Other languages 0

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 89.4 % of the people at least one year old living in Phelps County, Nebraska were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 89.4
Different house, same county 6.5
Different county, same state 3.2
Different state 1
Abroad 0

Education

In 2020-2024, 93.1 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 29.9% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 7% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Phelps County, Nebraska was 2,020 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 147 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 1,578. College or graduate school enrollment was 295.

Educational Attainment of People in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 7
High school diploma or equivalency 27.9
Some college, no degree 23.7
Associate's degree 11.5
Bachelor's degree 20.9
Graduate or professional degree 9

Disability

In Phelps County, Nebraska, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 13.1 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 3% of people under 18 years old, to 9.6% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 35.6% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Phelps County, Nebraska, 65.4 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 33.8% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 72.2% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 18.2% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 9 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 3,330 72.2
Federal, state, or local government workers 840 18.2
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 414 9

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Phelps County, Nebraska worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 11.9
Construction 9.3
Manufacturing 11.9
Wholesale trade 3.9
Retail trade 6.2
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 6.1
Information 0.8
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 4.3
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 5.4
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 27.4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 5
Other Services, except public administration 3.5
Public administration 4.3

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 1,527 33.1
Service occupations 739 16
Sales and office occupations 784 17
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 936 20.3
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 625 13.6

Commuting to Work

An estimated 82.9% of Phelps County, Nebraska workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.6% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 14.7 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 82.9
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.6
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0
Walked 3.1
Other means 0.8
Worked from home 5.6

In 2020-2024, Phelps County, Nebraska had a total of 4,170 housing units. Of these housing units, 79.3% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 15.1% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 5.2% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 79.3
Apartments in multi-unit structures 15.1
Mobile homes 5.2
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.3

5.6% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 22.7% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Phelps County, Nebraska was 6.6 rooms, and of these housing units 58.6% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Phelps County, Nebraska had 3,916 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 254 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 68.3% while renters occupied 31.7%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.35 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.04.

1.4% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 15.8% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 6.2% and another 32.7% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Phelps County, Nebraska:

House Heating Fuel Used in Phelps County, Nebraska in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 61.5
Electricity 36.8
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.3
All other fuels 1.2
No fuel used 0.2

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Phelps County, Nebraska was $194,900.

Of the owner-occupied households, 45.9 % had a mortgage. 54.1% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,459 and for owners without a mortgage it was $644.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Phelps County, Nebraska was $815. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.