51,156 people (2024 Census estimate, +1.9% since 2020)
968 square miles of land · 53 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
15 active community water systems list Buffalo County in the area they serve, reporting 41,170 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| KEARNEY, CITY OF groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · NE3101906 | 34,000 served |
| GIBBON, CITY OF groundwater · local government · NE3101907 | 1,878 served |
| RAVENNA, CITY OF groundwater · local government · NE3101911 | 1,457 served |
| SHELTON, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · NE3101910 | 1,059 served |
| ELM CREEK, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · NE3101908 | 901 served |
| BUFFALO CO SID 3 - GLENWOOD ESTATES groundwater · local government · NE3120037 | 400 served |
| PLEASANTON, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · NE3101909 | 367 served |
| AMHERST, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · NE3120041 | 295 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 142 people were held in Buffalo County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 436 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 115.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
7 school districts have their office in Buffalo County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $78.6 million — $70.6 million to run schools, about $11,473 per student, plus $5.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $58.6 million local (mostly property tax), $20.2 million state, $7.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $146 million.
Spent $8.9 million — $8.1 million to run schools, about $14,630 per student, plus $471,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.1 million local (mostly property tax), $2.3 million state, $835,000 federal. Long-term debt: $10.5 million.
Spent $8.2 million — $7.6 million to run schools, about $18,426 per student, plus $230,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.5 million local (mostly property tax), $1.2 million state, $542,000 federal.
Spent $15.3 million — $5 million to run schools, about $12,723 per student, plus $9.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.7 million local (mostly property tax), $2.6 million state, $731,000 federal. Long-term debt: $9 million.
Spent $13.5 million — $5.6 million to run schools, about $14,928 per student, plus $7.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.2 million local (mostly property tax), $1.3 million state, $339,000 federal. Long-term debt: $12.2 million.
Spent $5.1 million — $4.4 million to run schools, about $14,635 per student, plus $304,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.2 million local (mostly property tax), $1.1 million state, $499,000 federal. Long-term debt: $5.4 million.
Spent $5.4 million — $4.6 million to run schools, about $17,123 per student, plus $452,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.1 million local (mostly property tax), $1.1 million state, $369,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.5 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Buffalo County about $37.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
459 bridges in Buffalo County: 266 in good condition, 187 fair, and 6 poor (1.3%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| 11TH ST over KEARNEY CANAL · built 1994 | 3,690 vehicles a day |
| N40 over CHERRY VALLEY CREEK · built 1937 | 1,135 vehicles a day |
| US183 over CHERRY VALLEY CREEK · built 1963 | 805 vehicles a day |
| BASWAY STRIP ACESS over N CHANNEL PLATTE RIVER · built 1915 | 40 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY HIGHWAY over S CH PLATTE RIVER · built 1935 | 10 vehicles a day |
| SWEETWATER ROAD over MUD CREEK · built 1909 | 5 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $44 million of work in Buffalo County in fiscal 2025, about $879 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Nebraska are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Buffalo County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Buffalo County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Nebraska: the state government and every county in Nebraska.
Nearby counties: Kearney County (25 mi) · Sherman County (26 mi) · Phelps County (29 mi) · Hall County (30 mi) · Adams County (38 mi) · Howard County (38 mi).