Kearney, NE, Nebraska: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+46%. Republican peak: R+56 in 1984.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+46MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 57,2922024 5-year
- Median household income
- $76,2302024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 87.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 10.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+34 in 1892MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+56 in 1984MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Kearney, NE, NEOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 7,122 | 19,892 | 27,492 | ||
| R | 7,051 | 19,462 | 27,328 | ||
| R | 5,313 | 17,100 | 24,425 | ||
| R | 6,138 | 15,919 | 22,633 | ||
| R | 6,743 | 15,321 | 22,443 | ||
| R | 4,807 | 16,843 | 21,987 | ||
| R | 4,607 | 14,264 | 19,583 | ||
| R | 5,059 | 11,957 | 18,904 | ||
| R | 4,392 | 11,482 | 20,918 | ||
| R | 5,758 | 12,102 | 18,042 | ||
| R | 3,812 | 13,873 | 17,812 | ||
| R | 3,893 | 12,281 | 17,773 | ||
| R | 5,527 | 9,925 | 15,901 | ||
| R | 3,747 | 10,790 | 14,537 | ||
| R | 3,700 | 8,592 | 13,216 | ||
| D | 7,203 | 6,777 | 13,980 | ||
| R | 5,154 | 9,660 | 14,814 | ||
| R | 4,272 | 9,500 | 13,772 | ||
| R | 3,431 | 10,889 | 14,320 | ||
| R | 5,116 | 6,302 | 11,418 | ||
| R | 5,119 | 7,855 | 12,974 | ||
| R | 5,621 | 8,179 | 13,800 | ||
| D | 8,447 | 5,809 | 14,683 | ||
| D | 8,239 | 4,902 | 13,492 | ||
| R | 3,894 | 9,886 | 13,882 | ||
| R | 3,580 | 6,199 | 11,997 | ||
| R | 3,531 | 6,637 | 10,600 | ||
| D | 4,273 | 2,976 | 7,525 | ||
| D | 3,073 | 1,417 | 6,794 | ||
| D | 3,694 | 3,519 | 7,513 | ||
| R | 1,127 | 3,789 | 6,245 | ||
| D | 3,165 | 2,971 | 6,360 | ||
| D | 3,593 | 2,790 | 6,540 | ||
| O | 2,683 | 502 | 6,326 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
37.8%
Irish
12.7%
English
10.4%
American
4.1%
Polish
2.6%
Italian
2.3%
French
2.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 35.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$76,230
Kearney, NE ranks near the middle of US counties.
Kearney, NE$76,230
Nebraska$76,475
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 188.1%
Working age (18–64)10.0%
Seniors (65+)10.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.5%
speak English only
Spanish6.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.4%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 48.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Kearney's metro sits at the crossroads of I-80 and the Union Pacific main line, drawing a workforce tied to meatpacking and regional logistics. Buffalo County has voted Republican in presidential races by consistent double-digit margins over the past two decades.
The Democratic margin in Kearney, NE peaked at thirty-four points in 1892. By 1968 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-six points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $76,230 sits well below state and national norms, and 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Kearney, NE, Nebraska — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/28260/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Kearney, NE, Nebraska vote in 2024?
In 2024, Kearney, NE, Nebraska voted Republican by 46.4 points (R+46), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 27,492 votes cast, 7,122 went Democratic and 19,892 went Republican.
What is Kearney, NE, Nebraska's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Kearney, NE, Nebraska as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 8 times, Republican 25 times, and other 1 times.
When did Kearney, NE, Nebraska last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Kearney, NE, Nebraska voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Kearney, NE, Nebraska?
Kearney, NE, Nebraska has a population of 57,292 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Kearney, NE, Nebraska?
Median household income in Kearney, NE, Nebraska is $76,230 — below the national median of $80,734. The Nebraska state median is $76,475.
What is the political history of Kearney, NE, Nebraska?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Kearney, NE, Nebraska from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.