Kearney, Nebraska
Kearney is a city in
Buffalo County,
Nebraska,
United States. The population was 27,431 at the 2000 census and increased to 28,958 by 2005. It is the
county seat of
Buffalo County. Kearney is pronounced "Kar-ney" (
IPA pronunciation: ) and not "Ker-ney".
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Location of Kearney, Nebraska |
Kearney is located at (40.700731, -99.081150).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.0
km² (11.2
mi²). 28.4 km² (11.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (1.96%) is water.
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Woman sweeping sidewalk in downtown Kearney |
As of the
census of 2000, there were 27,431 people, 10,549 households, and 6,160 families residing in the city. The
population density was 964.6/km² (2,498.5/mi²). There were 11,099 housing units at an average density of 390.3/km² (1,010.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.18%
White, 0.63%
African American, 0.38%
Native American, 0.92%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 1.68% from
other races, and 1.17% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 4.08% of the population.
There were 10,549 households out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were
married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.6% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 23.9% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,829, and the median income for a family was $46,650. Males had a median income of $30,150 versus $22,366 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $17,713. About 7.4% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.
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Parade of U.S. Infantry through Kearney, Nebraska, 1888. |
The campus of the
University of Nebraska at Kearney is located in the city, as is the
Museum of Nebraska Art, the state's official art collection. The
Great Platte River Road Archway Monument spans
Interstate 80; the city marks the halfway point between
Boston and
San Francisco.
The headquarters of
The Buckle are located in Kearney. The city is also home to the
Tri-City Storm, a
United States Hockey League team.
The city was named after nearby
Fort Kearny (with an extra "e" added, but pronounced the same), a
United States Army outpost along the
Oregon Trail in the middle 19th century that was itself named after Col. and later General
Stephen W. Kearny.
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City of Kearney, Nebraska
