County Maps US

Dakota County, Nebraska

A county in Nebraska, ranked 16 of 93 by population.

CountyFIPS 31043

Within Nebraska
Dakota County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data.

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Population
21,687
+143 (+0.7%) since 2020
Land area
264.4
square miles. A further 1.1% of the total area is water
Population density
82.0
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Dakota City
Seat of county government.
Established
1855
170 years ago
Largest city
South Sioux City city
Population 14,158.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Dakota County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Dakota County, Nebraska from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 734 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Dakota County ranks

Position among the 93 counties of Nebraska, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn NebraskaNationally
Population21,68716th of 931,736th of 3,144
Land area264.4 sq mi92nd of 932,877th of 3,144
Population density82.0 per sq mi5th of 931,059th of 3,144
Median household income$70,32935th of 931,177th of 3,143

Full data for Dakota County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population21,687Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202021,544Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?21,581Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area264.4 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area3.0 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area267.4 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?82.0 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$70,329American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$185,700American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age32.5American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households7,459American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units7,808American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
+262
461 births, 199 deaths
Net migration
-69
More people moved out than moved in.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 4 areas bordering Dakota County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Dixon CountyNebraska22 mi5,602
Woodbury CountyIowa19 mi106,649
Thurston CountyNebraska19 mi6,752
Union CountySouth Dakota12 mi17,402

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 93 counties of Nebraska

Open the interactive Nebraska county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.