4,870 people (2024 Census estimate, −3.1% since 2020)
574 square miles of land · 8 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.
10 active community water systems list Thayer County in the area they serve, reporting 3,580 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| HEBRON, CITY OF groundwater · local government · NE3116901 | 1,565 served |
| DESHLER, CITY OF groundwater · local government · NE3116902 | 747 served |
| DAVENPORT, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · NE3116908 | 319 served |
| BRUNING, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · NE3116905 | 291 served |
| CHESTER, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · NE3116906 | 224 served |
| ALEXANDRIA, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · NE3116910 | 146 served |
| CARLETON, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · NE3116904 | 86 served |
| BYRON, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · NE3116907 | 83 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 2 people were held in Thayer County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 70 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 4.
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.
3 school districts have their office in Thayer County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $9.4 million — $7.3 million to run schools, about $16,643 per student, plus $1.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.9 million local (mostly property tax), $1.2 million state, $330,000 federal. Long-term debt: $5.3 million.
Spent $5.5 million — $5.1 million to run schools, about $21,264 per student, plus $284,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.1 million local (mostly property tax), $1.2 million state, $346,000 federal.
Spent $5.3 million — $4.6 million to run schools, about $26,045 per student, plus $366,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.2 million local (mostly property tax), $897,000 state, $302,000 federal.
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: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Thayer County about $12.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
220 bridges in Thayer County: 106 in good condition, 98 fair, and 16 poor (7.3%). “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.
| US136 over DRY CREEK · built 1940 | 1,310 vehicles a day |
| N5 over LITTLE BLUE RIVER · built 1976 | 450 vehicles a day |
| COLL 7599 over LITTLE BLUE RIVER · built 1971 | 100 vehicles a day |
| ROAD C over STREAM · built 1935 | 50 vehicles a day |
| ROAD 5700 over DRY CREEK · built 1935 | 40 vehicles a day |
| ROAD T over BIG SANDY CREEK · built 1915 | 40 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $7.3 million of work in Thayer County in fiscal 2025, about $1,459 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 Thayer 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 Thayer County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Nebraska: the state government and every county in Nebraska.
Nearby counties: Nuckolls County (24 mi) · Jefferson County (24 mi) · Republic County, KS (24 mi) · Fillmore County (24 mi) · Clay County (34 mi) · Saline County (34 mi).