Dakota County, Nebraska

Dakota County, Nebraska
Dakota County courthouse in Dakota City
Location in the U.S. state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 7, 1855
Named for	Dakota people
Seat	Dakota City
Largest city	South Sioux City
Area
• Total	267 sq mi (692 km2)
• Land	264 sq mi (684 km2)
• Water	3.2 sq mi (8 km2), 1.2%
Population (est.)
• (2013)	20,947
• Density	78/sq mi (30/km²)
Congressional district	3rd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.dakotacountyne.org

Dakota County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 census, the population was 21,006. Its county seat is Dakota City.

Dakota County is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Dakota County is represented by the prefix 70 (it had the seventieth-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922). In August 2009, the Dakota County Board of Commissioners reversed an earlier decision to abandon this system for alphanumeric plates upon introduction of new license plates in 2011. Douglas, Lancaster, and Sarpy Counties remain the only counties with alphanumeric plates in the state.

History

Succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples lived along the Missouri River for thousands of years. By 1775, the Omaha people had migrated west of the Missouri, where they established a major settlement, which they called Ton-wa-tonga, meaning the Big Village. It had about 1100 residents. From here, the Omaha controlled fur trading on the upper Missouri River with other tribes and with French-Canadian traders, often called voyageurs. The Omaha were the first of the Northern Plains tribes to have adopted an equestrian culture.

Dakota County was formed by European-American settlers in 1855. They named it after the historic Dakota Sioux tribe, who were powerful in the area of Nebraska and South Dakota. By this time, the Omaha were concentrated further south in what became the state of Nebraska.

In 1885, the county went to the United States Supreme Court in Dakota County v. Glidden over a dispute with issuing bonds.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 267 square miles (690 km²), of which 264 square miles (680 km²) is land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) (1.2%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in Nebraska by area.

The county is separated from South Dakota on the northeast and Iowa on the east by the Missouri River. The surface consists of rolling prairies and bottom lands.

Dakota county and features

Major highways

• Interstate 129
• U.S. Highway 20
• U.S. Highway 75
• U.S. Highway 77
• Nebraska Highway 9
• Nebraska Highway 12
• Nebraska Highway 35
• Nebraska Highway 110

Adjacent counties

• Union County, South Dakota - north
• Woodbury County, Iowa - east
• Thurston County, Nebraska - south
• Dixon County, Nebraska - west

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	819		—
1870	2,040		149.1%
1880	3,213		57.5%
1890	5,386		67.6%
1900	6,286		16.7%
1910	6,564		4.4%
1920	7,694		17.2%
1930	9,505		23.5%
1940	9,836		3.5%
1950	10,401		5.7%
1960	12,168		17.0%
1970	13,137		8.0%
1980	16,573		26.2%
1990	16,742		1.0%
2000	20,253		21.0%
2010	21,006		3.7%
Est. 2014	20,850		−0.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,253 people, 7,095 households, and 5,087 families residing in the county. The population density was 77 people per square mile (30/km²). There were 7,528 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 78.84% White, 0.62% Black or African American, 1.86% Native American, 3.08% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 12.91% from other races, and 2.62% from two or more races. 22.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 28.0% were of German and 10.5% Irish ancestry according to the 2000 census.

There were 7,095 households out of which 39.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.60% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.30% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the county the population was spread out with 30.50% under the age of 18, 10.10% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 20.10% from 45 to 64, and 9.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,834, and the median income for a family was $43,702. Males had a median income of $28,341 versus $22,035 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,125. About 9.20% of families and 11.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.60% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Dakota City (county seat)
• South Sioux City

Villages

• Emerson (partial)
• Homer
• Hubbard
• Jackson

Unincorporated communities

• Goodwin
• Nacora
• Willis

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Dakota County, Nebraska