Official Federal Data
Dawes County, Nebraska
FIPS 31045 · Population 8,140
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$56,280 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
2.9% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$395M ▲
GDP
36.2% ▼
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 8,140 residents. These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates, which carry a wide margin of error for places under 20,000 people. Read each value as an approximate range, and treat year-over-year changes as indicative rather than exact. A small shift can reflect survey sampling, not a real change on the ground.
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$56,280 ▲
Per Capita
$32,306 ▲
Mean Household
$76,200 ▲
Poverty Rate
13.1% ▼approx.
Median Income Comparison
Dawes County$56,280
Nebraska$76,475
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 18.2%
18-34 · 30%
35-54 · 21.1%
55-64 · 10.9%
65+ · 19.7%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
95.9%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +6.3 pts
36.2%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +0.5 pts
17.1%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +3.0 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
8,140
Population
4,335
Labor Force
Employed
4,264
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
2.9% ▲ +0.3 pts YoY
Mean Commute 11 min below national avg
15.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.7%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Retail Trade employs 621 workers (66.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $37,040.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $395M (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $53,703 while Real Estate and Rental and Leasing averages $25,951, a 2.1x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Retail Trade Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
439
Cluster Employment
3.70x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Animal Production and Aquaculture
5.60x 30
General Merchandise Retailers
3.70x 237
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
3.56x 74
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers
3.16x 128
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.40x
Ambulatory Health Care Services
71 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Animal Production and Aquaculture concentrates at 5.60x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 4 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 4 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$150,900 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$900 ▲
Rent/Mo
61.8% ▼
Owner-Occ
14.5% ▼
Vacancy
2.7x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$715/mo
1 Bedroom
$786/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,031/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,372/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,378/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,407/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.7x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- Elevated vacancy: 14.5% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,407/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
5,048 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 11 min below national avg
15.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.7%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
90.3%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
36.2% ▼
HS Diploma+
95.9% ▼
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
20,331/yr
6,113/yr
3,604/yr
3,235/yr
2,955/yr
2,601/yr
1,823/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
17.6%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
40.2%
Service
22.4%
Sales & Office
17.1%
Construction / Maint.
12.6%
Production / Transport
7.6%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 4,264 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 15.6-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 12,952 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Dawes County shows strong potential for animal production and aquaculture attraction, with a 5.60x concentration and 30 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across animal production and aquaculture, general merchandise retailers, and gasoline stations and fuel dealers creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Dawes County, Nebraska, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Dawes County, Nebraska?
8,140 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Dawes County, Nebraska?
$56,280 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Dawes County, Nebraska?
2.9% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Dawes County, Nebraska?
$395M (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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