Demographics of Kearney city, Nebraska

Kearney city, Nebraska had 34,782 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +868 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Kearney city, in four figures

34,782
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 34,246 ±26.; +2.6%
Change since July 2020: +868 people.; 32.8 ±0.7
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $69,724 ±$4,868
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Kearney city, Nebraska's population grew 2.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Kearney city, Nebraska's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Kearney city, Nebraska's population grew 2.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Kearney city, Nebraska's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	33,914	100.0	100.0
2021	34,040	100.4	100.2
2022	34,308	101.2	100.7
2023	34,432	101.5	101.6
2024	34,759	102.5	102.5
2025	34,782	102.6	103.1

Population of Kearney city, Nebraska on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	33,914	—
2021	34,040	+126
2022	34,308	+268
2023	34,432	+124
2024	34,759	+327
2025	34,782	+23

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 32.8 ±0.7: for men 30.9 ±1.8 and for women 33.8 ±1.1. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Kearney city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	Nebraska	United States
Under 5	1,992 ±149	5.8% ±0.4	6.3% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	5,126 ±482	15.0% ±1.4	18.2% ±0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	6,253 ±506	18.3% ±1.5	9.8% ±0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	8,964 ±470	26.2% ±1.4	25.9% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	6,365 ±458	18.6% ±1.3	23.1% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	5,546 ±429	16.2% ±1.3	16.7% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $69,724 ±$4,868, and income per person $37,716 ±$1,978, in 2024 dollars. The median is $76,475 ±$633 in Nebraska and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Kearney city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	Nebraska	United States
Under $25,000	2,345 ±366	16.7% ±2.6	13.8% ±0.3	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	2,831 ±397	20.2% ±2.8	18.0% ±0.3	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	2,262 ±294	16.1% ±2.1	17.3% ±0.3	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	1,884 ±297	13.4% ±2.1	13.5% ±0.3	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	2,661 ±430	19.0% ±3.0	18.9% ±0.3	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	1,124 ±259	8.0% ±1.8	9.1% ±0.2	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	921 ±200	6.6% ±1.4	9.4% ±0.2	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Kearney city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	Nebraska	United States
All ages	4,019 ±585	12.4% ±1.8	10.6% ±0.3	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	749 ±253	10.6% ±3.5	12.0% ±0.5	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	2,653 ±424	14.4% ±2.2	10.6% ±0.3	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	617 ±197	9.1% ±2.8	9.1% ±0.3	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Kearney city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Kearney city	Nebraska	United States
Housing units	14,750 ±248	863,444 ±628	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	95.1% ±0.8	92.4% ±0.3	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	4.9% ±1.5	7.6% ±0.3	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	60.6% ±2.4	66.5% ±0.5	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	39.4% ±2.4	33.5% ±0.4	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$244,600 ±$8,217	$238,600 ±$1,365	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$949 ±$31	$1,072 ±$8	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1983 ±3	1975 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Kearney city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	Nebraska	United States
Hispanic or Latino	3,895 ±245	11.4% ±0.7	12.7% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	27,898 ±341	81.5% ±1.0	75.3% ±0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	367 ±109	1.1% ±0.3	4.6% ±0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	807 ±74	2.4% ±0.2	2.6% ±0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	16 to 132	< 0.1% to 0.4%	0.6% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 173	0% to 0.5%	< 0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	33 to 439	0.1% to 1.3%	0.4% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	893 ±254	2.6% ±0.7	3.8% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Kearney city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	Nebraska	United States
Born in the state	24,213 ±854	70.7% ±2.5	64.1% ±0.3	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	7,920 ±810	23.1% ±2.4	26.9% ±0.3	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	195 ±90	0.6% ±0.3	1.0% ±0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	1,918 ±280	5.6% ±0.8	8.0% ±0.2	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	801 ±173	2.3% ±0.5	3.4% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	1,117 ±299	3.3% ±0.9	4.6% ±0.2	6.8% ±<0.1

Kearney city among the places of Nebraska

5th of 34 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the Nebraska page.

Places of Nebraska near Kearney city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Omaha city	488,837 ±73
Lincoln city	294,856 ±42
Bellevue city	64,510 ±97
Grand Island city	52,884 ±27
Kearney city	34,246 ±26
Fremont city	27,567 ±37
Norfolk city	26,054 ±49
Papillion city	25,244 ±46
Hastings city	25,008 ±41
Columbus city	24,488 ±26

Elsewhere on the site

Reported crime in Kearney city, Nebraska

Rankings this appears in

No. 2 Places in Nebraska by poverty rate
No. 4 Places in Nebraska by median home value
No. 4 Places in Nebraska by median household income
No. 5 Places in Nebraska by per capita income
No. 11 Places in Nebraska by foreign-born share
No. 12 Places in Nebraska by median rent

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026