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CPL Main Page | Dawes County Information

County Population: 9,060
County Houses: 4,004
Land area: 1396.2 sq. mi.
Water area: 4.6 sq. mi.

Industries providing employment: Educational,health and social services (28.9%), Retail trade (15.8%), Agriculture,forestry,fishing and hunting, and mining (13.1%), Arts,entertainment,recreation,accommodation and food services (10.1%).

Type of workers:

  • Private wage or salary: 59%
  • Government: 27%
  • Self-employed, not incorporated: 13%
  • Unpaid family work: 2%

Races in Dawes County:

  • White Non-Hispanic (92.4%)
  • American Indian (3.7%)
  • Hispanic (2.4%)
  • Two or more races (1.6%)
  • Other race (1.0%)
  • Black (0.8%)
    (Total can be greater than 100% because Hispanics could be counted in other races)
  • Number of foreign born residents: 198
    (29% naturalized citizens)

Demographic Information:

  • Median age: 30.6 years
  • Males: 48.9%, Females: 51.1%
  • Average wage per job in 2003: $21700
  • County population in 2003: 8985
  • Jobs in 2003: 3708
  • Total labor force in 2004: 4967
  • Unemployment rate in 2004: 3.0%
  • Average household size in Dawes County: 2.28
  • Median household income: $29,476 (year 2000)
  • Median house value: $55,200 (year 2000)
  • Median montly rent in 2000: $394
  • Institutionalized population: 91
  • Median monthly costs for houses with a mortgage in Dawes County in 2000: $684
  • Mean travel time to work: 13.3 minutes

Cities in this county include:

Chadron, Crawford, Whitney.

Notable locations in Dawes County:

Fort Robinson Camping Area, Bordeaux, Box Butte Reservoir Camping Area, Marsland, Camp Norwesca, Chadron Camping Area, Chadron State Park Trailhead, Red Cloud Picnic Area, Red Cloud Campground, Red Cloud Agency Historical Site, Spotted Tail Trailhead, Spotted Tail Campground, Coffee Mill Trailhead, Roberts Trailhead Campground, Roberts Trailhead, J and L RV Park, Wayside, Pine Ridge Civilian Conservation Center, Fast Ash Trailhead, Belmont.

Churches:

Churches in Dawes County include: Assemblies of God Chadron Community Church, Bethel Church, Bible Baptist Church, Chadron Christian Church, Church of Christ, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Discovery, First Baptist Church, First Congregational United Church of Christ, Grace Episcopal Church, Harvestland Baptist Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church (ELCA), New Covenant Church, Newman House, Open Door Church, Ridgeview Bible Church, Saint John the Baptist Church, Willow Creek Church.

Cemeteries:

Antelope Valley Cemetery, Highland Cemetery, Highland Center Cemetery, Crawford Cemetery, Crow Butte Cemetery, Bethel Cemetery, Shisler Cemetery.

Lakes and reservoirs:

Whitney Lake, Snus Lake, Agate Dam Reservoir, Agate Reservoir, Alcorn Reservoir, Anderson Reservoir, Baldwin Reservoir, Bartlet Reservoir.

Creeks:

Beaver Creek, Fisher Creek, Hooker Creek, Little Creek, Chadron Creek, Rush Creek, Ash Creek, Lone Tree Creek, Alkali Creek.

Parks in Dawes County include:

Adobe Officers Quarters Historical Marker, German POW Camp Historical Marker, The Fort Pierre - Fort Laramie Trail Historical Marker, The Fort Robinson Cemetery Historical Marker, Chadron Creek Trading Post Historical Marker, Chadron State Park, Chadron State Park Historical Marker, Fort Robinson and the Railroad Historical Marker, Fort Robinson State Park.

Education:

Current college students: 1,769
People 25 years of age or older with a high school degree or higher: 86.9%
People 25 years of age or older with a bachelor's degree or higher: 28.4%

Housing units in structures:

  • One, detached: 2,749
  • One, attached: 73
  • Two: 163
  • 3 or 4: 127
  • 5 to 9: 82
  • 10 to 19: 149
  • 20 or more: 85
  • Mobile homes: 572
  • Boats, RVs, vans, etc.: 4

Agriculture in Dawes County

  • Average size of farms: 1937 acres
  • Average value of agricultural products sold per farm: $64626
  • Average value of crops sold per acre for harvested cropland: $49.27
  • The value of nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod as a percentage of the total market value of agricultural products sold: 0.00%
  • The value of livestock, poultry, and their products as a percentage of the total market value of agricultural products sold: 85.73%
  • Average total farm production expenses per farm: $57174
  • Harvested cropland as a percentage of land in farms: 9.67%
  • Irrigated harvested cropland as a percentage of land in farms: 19.08%
  • Average market value of all machinery and equipment per farm: $55803
  • The percentage of farms operated by a family or individual: 88.92%
  • Average age of principal farm operators: 57 years
  • Average number of cattle and calves per 100 acres of all land in farms: 6.03
  • Milk cows as a percentage of all cattle and calves: 0.31%
  • Corn for grain: 1303 harvested acres
  • All wheat for grain: 21194 harvested acres
  • Land in orchards: 59 acres

Dawes County historical area-adjusted tornado activity is significantly below Nebraska state average. It is 1.4 times below overall U.S. average.