Gosper County, Nebraska

Gosper County, Nebraska
Gosper County Courthouse in Elwood
Location in the U.S. state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location in the U.S.
Founded	1881
Named for	John J. Gosper
Seat	Elwood
Largest village	Elwood
Area
• Total	463 sq mi (1,199 km2)
• Land	458 sq mi (1,186 km2)
• Water	4.6 sq mi (12 km2), 1.0%
Population
• (2010)	2,044
• Density	4.5/sq mi (2/km²)
Congressional district	3rd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.gosper.ne.us

Gosper County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,044. Its county seat is Elwood. The county was formed in 1873 and later organized in 1881. It was named after John J. Gosper, a Secretary of State of Nebraska.

Gosper County is part of the Lexington, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Gosper County is represented by the prefix 73 (it had the seventy-third-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 463 square miles (1,200 km²), of which 458 square miles (1,190 km²) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km²) (1.0%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 283
• 20px Nebraska Highway 18
• Nebraska Highway 23

Adjacent counties

• Phelps County (east)
• Furnas County (south)
• Frontier County (west)
• Dawson County (north)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	1,673		—
1890	4,816		187.9%
1900	5,301		10.1%
1910	4,933		−6.9%
1920	4,669		−5.4%
1930	4,287		−8.2%
1940	3,687		−14.0%
1950	2,734		−25.8%
1960	2,489		−9.0%
1970	2,178		−12.5%
1980	2,140		−1.7%
1990	1,928		−9.9%
2000	2,143		11.2%
2010	2,044		−4.6%
Est. 2014	1,970		−3.6%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,143 people, 863 households, and 655 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 1,281 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.79% White, 0.14% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.42% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races. 1.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 863 households out of which 29.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.10% were married couples living together, 3.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.10% were non-families. 22.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.80% under the age of 18, 5.40% from 18 to 24, 24.00% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 20.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 102.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,827, and the median income for a family was $42,702. Males had a median income of $28,836 versus $21,204 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,957. About 4.80% of families and 7.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.10% of those under age 18 and 5.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Gosper County, NE

• Elwood (county seat)
• Smithfield