Description: Detailed large map of Nebraska State, USA showing cities, towns, county formations, roads highway, US highways and State routes.
Map of Nebraska (USA). Nebraska map with cities, counties, and towns. Use this detailed map to understand Nebraska's full county grid, every administrative capital (county seat), the major cities and towns, bordering states and waters, and a few highway cues for orientation only. It is the best map style for residents, travelers, and geography students who want clarity without road clutter. Nebraska packs all 93 counties into a state that runs from the Missouri River bluffs in the east to the high plains of the Panhandle in the west, so the color-coded county blocks do most of the orienting here rather than a maze of route numbers. Each county sits in its own shaded block with the seat printed in bold right on top, and the thin road lines underneath exist only to help you keep your bearings, not to replace a real atlas. Whether you're tracing the county lines, checking a seat, or just want to see how the cities and towns sit relative to each other, start with the color blocks and the rest falls into place.
Borders and waters at a glance: South Dakota runs the entire top edge to the north, Iowa and Missouri sit across the Missouri River to the east, Kansas closes off the south, and Colorado and Wyoming form the western line. Picture the state as a long rectangle built from 93 counties, most of them square or near-square cells tracing back to the old township surveys, which is really why this Map of Nebraska scans so easily at a glance. The land changes as you move west to east: the far western Panhandle is high plains and badlands terrain, the north-central counties fall into the grass-stabilized dunes of the Sandhills, and the eastern third settles into fertile Platte Valley farmland and Missouri River bluffs. A handful of river names on the map, Platte, Missouri, Niobrara, Republican, Elkhorn, and Loup, do a lot of the work explaining how the state actually settled, without turning the graphic into a tangle of blue lines. Whether you need it for schoolwork or for planning a road trip, the same colored county grid answers both.
Road-light orientation: All 93 counties show up as color blocks here, stitched together by I-80 running east to west through the Platte Valley, while I-680 loops around the Omaha metro and I-129 handles the short spur from South Sioux City into Iowa. The Platte and Missouri rivers are the two main lines to lean on for orientation, and the Niobrara and Republican rivers act as secondary anchors across the north and south tiers. The capital, Lincoln, sits in Lancaster County, and it isn't the state's largest city, that title belongs to Omaha, over in Douglas County.
In the far southeast corner, the Omaha metro counties line up along the Missouri River across from Iowa. Douglas County anchors the cluster with its seat at Omaha, the state's largest city, and Sarpy County sits just south with its seat at Papillion. Washington County, seat Blair, holds the river line to the north, while Cass County, seat Plattsmouth, picks up where the Platte meets the Missouri. Follow the river south from there and you reach Otoe County with its seat at Nebraska City, Nemaha County with its seat at Auburn, and Richardson County, in the state's extreme southeast corner, with its seat at Falls City. Two interior counties round out this group: Pawnee County, seat Pawnee City, and Johnson County, seat Tecumseh, both tucked between the river towns and the prairie counties to the west.
West of Omaha, the capital region and southeast prairie counties form a dense band of farm towns built around the state capital. Lancaster County holds Lincoln itself, the seat of state government, while Gage County, seat Beatrice, and Jefferson County, seat Fairbury, sit just to the south near the Kansas line. Saline County keeps its seat at Wilber, and Seward County, sharing its name with its own county seat, sits just west of Lincoln. To the north, Saunders County, seat Wahoo, and Butler County, seat David City, fill in the land between the Platte and the capital. Moving east to west along the southern tier, Polk County has Osceola, York County keeps its own name as the seat, Fillmore County has Geneva, Thayer County has Hebron on the Kansas border, Nuckolls County has Nelson, and Clay County has Clay Center, closing out this thirteen-county band.
The northeast counties trace the Elkhorn River toward its meeting with the Missouri. Burt County, seat Tekamah, sits on the river itself, and just north of it, Dakota County, seat Dakota City, faces South Sioux City across the state line. Dixon County, seat Ponca, and Cedar County, seat Hartington, follow the Missouri bluffs further north, while Wayne County, sharing its name with the county seat, and Thurston County, seat Pender, sit inland on the Omaha Reservation lands. Rounding out the group, Cuming County has West Point, Stanton County keeps its own name as the seat, Colfax County has Schuyler, and Dodge County, seat Fremont, sits where the Elkhorn joins the Platte on its way toward Omaha.
Central and north-central Nebraska follows the Loup River system through a wide stretch of ranch and farm country. Along the northern edge, Knox County has Center, Antelope County has Neligh, and Pierce County keeps its own name as the seat, sitting just north of Madison County, which shares its name with its seat, Madison, near the larger city of Norfolk. South of there, Boone County has Albion, Nance County has Fullerton, and Platte County, seat Columbus, sits on the Platte's north bank. Merrick County, seat Central City, and Howard County, seat Saint Paul, continue the chain west, while Wheeler County, seat Bartlett, and Holt County, seat O'Neill, sit further north. Boyd County, seat Butte, and Rock County, seat Bassett, hold the strip along the South Dakota line, and Sherman County, seat Loup City, and Valley County, seat Ord, sit at the region's western edge. Greeley County, seat Greeley Center, and the region's largest county, Custer County, seat Broken Bow, close out this seventeen-county band that stretches nearly the full width of the state.
The Sandhills region covers the state's sparsely populated, grass-stabilized dune country across the north-central counties. Cherry County, the state's largest county by land area, keeps its seat at Valentine on the Niobrara River, while Brown County, seat Ainsworth, and Keya Paha County, seat Springview, sit along the northern tier near South Dakota. Blaine County, seat Brewster, and Loup County, seat Taylor, are two of the smallest-population counties on the map, carved out of the dune grasslands. Garfield County, seat Burwell, sits by Calamus Reservoir, and further west, Grant County, seat Hyannis, Hooker County, seat Mullen, and Thomas County, seat Thedford, sit deep in ranch country along the Middle Loup. McPherson County, seat Tryon, Arthur County, sharing its name with its seat, and Logan County, seat Stapleton, finish out the region on its southern edge, just north of Lincoln County.
The western Panhandle counties shift into high plains and badlands terrain as the state runs up against Wyoming and South Dakota. Sioux County, seat Harrison, sits in the far northwest corner, and Dawes County, seat Chadron, holds the Pine Ridge escarpment just to its east. Box Butte County, seat Alliance, and Sheridan County, seat Rushville, sit along the rail corridor south of Dawes. Further south, Cheyenne County, seat Sidney, marks where I-80 and U.S. 385 meet, while Banner County, seat Harrisburg, and Kimball County, sharing its name with its seat, sit near the Wyoming and Colorado corners. Scotts Bluff County, seat Gering, is the Panhandle's population center, and Morrill County, seat Bridgeport, and Garden County, seat Oshkosh, follow the North Platte River east. Deuel County, seat Chappell, closes out the group along the Colorado line.
The Platte Valley counties follow the river's south-central stretch through the state's second tier of cities. Buffalo County, seat Kearney, and Hall County, seat Grand Island, anchor the valley, with Hamilton County, seat Aurora, just to the east. South of the river, Kearney County, seat Minden, not to be confused with the city of Kearney to its north, and Adams County, seat Hastings, sit side by side. Franklin County, sharing its name with its seat, and Harlan County, seat Alma, hold the Republican River bend near Harlan County Lake, while Webster County, seat Red Cloud, sits on the Kansas line. Phelps County, seat Holdrege, and Gosper County, seat Elwood, round out the southern band. To the west, Dawson County, seat Lexington, anchors the I-80 corridor, and Lincoln County, seat North Platte, marks the confluence of the North and South Platte rivers at the region's western edge.
The southwest counties follow the Republican River valley toward the Kansas and Colorado borders. Chase County, seat Imperial, and Perkins County, seat Grant, sit closest to the Colorado line, with Hayes County, seat Hayes Center, just to the southeast in some of the region's most sparsely settled land. Hitchcock County, seat Trenton, sits near Swanson Reservoir, and Red Willow County, seat McCook, is the region's hub. Furnas County, seat Beaver City, and Frontier County, seat Stockville, hold the middle stretch of the valley, and Dundy County, seat Benkelman, closes out the group at the far southwest corner where Colorado and Kansas meet.
Keith County sits at the junction of the North and South Platte rivers, anchoring the transition from the Panhandle to the Sandhills. Its seat, Ogallala, sits on the shore of Lake McConaughy, the state's largest reservoir, making this one-county region an easy landmark on the map.
A county map answers different questions than a driving map does. Residents want to know which county a town falls under for property, schools, and courts. Visitors just need a statewide sense of where places sit relative to borders and rivers. Students and teachers trace how settlement spread along a grid of seats and courthouses. This map meets all three needs by listing every county name and seat distinctly, treating larger cities as context rather than the main event, and leaning on just enough road network to tie the story together. Look at the map and you can jump from Kearney to Grand Island to Hastings without ever reading an exit number. You can see that Valentine is the heart of Cherry County in the Sandhills, that Lincoln sits in Lancaster County as the seat of state government, that Gering sits in Scotts Bluff County near the Wyoming line, and that Falls City sits in Richardson County in the state's far southeast corner, all in a few seconds of scanning.
Four rivers carry almost all of the orientation weight on this map. The Platte River crosses the state west to east, splitting into North and South forks out in the Panhandle before rejoining near North Platte. The Missouri River forms the entire eastern border, from the Dakota line down to Kansas. The Niobrara River cuts across the north-central Sandhills through Cherry and Knox counties. The Republican River traces the southern tier toward Kansas, past Harlan County Lake and McCook. Keep those four in mind, along with the Elkhorn and Loup as secondary cues, and almost any county on this map becomes easy to place.
The road layer stays intentionally minimal here. I-80 is the spine, running the full width of the state from Omaha to the Wyoming line along the Platte Valley. I-680 loops around the Omaha metro, and I-129 is a short spur connecting South Sioux City to Sioux City, Iowa, just across the river. None of these lines are meant for turn-by-turn navigation, they are county-placement cues, nothing more.
Every one of Nebraska's 93 counties and its seat, in alphabetical order: Adams County (Hastings), Antelope County (Neligh), Arthur County (Arthur), Banner County (Harrisburg), Blaine County (Brewster), Boone County (Albion), Box Butte County (Alliance), Boyd County (Butte), Brown County (Ainsworth), Buffalo County (Kearney), Burt County (Tekamah), Butler County (David City), Cass County (Plattsmouth), Cedar County (Hartington), Chase County (Imperial), Cherry County (Valentine), Cheyenne County (Sidney), Clay County (Clay Center), Colfax County (Schuyler), Cuming County (West Point), Custer County (Broken Bow), Dakota County (Dakota City), Dawes County (Chadron), Dawson County (Lexington), Deuel County (Chappell), Dixon County (Ponca), Dodge County (Fremont), Douglas County (Omaha), Dundy County (Benkelman), Fillmore County (Geneva), Franklin County (Franklin), Frontier County (Stockville), Furnas County (Beaver City), Gage County (Beatrice), Garden County (Oshkosh), Garfield County (Burwell), Gosper County (Elwood), Grant County (Hyannis), Greeley County (Greeley Center), Hall County (Grand Island), Hamilton County (Aurora), Harlan County (Alma), Hayes County (Hayes Center), Hitchcock County (Trenton), Holt County (O'Neill), Hooker County (Mullen), Howard County (Saint Paul), Jefferson County (Fairbury), Johnson County (Tecumseh), Kearney County (Minden), Keith County (Ogallala), Keya Paha County (Springview), Kimball County (Kimball), Knox County (Center), Lancaster County (Lincoln), Lincoln County (North Platte), Logan County (Stapleton), Loup County (Taylor), Madison County (Madison), McPherson County (Tryon), Merrick County (Central City), Morrill County (Bridgeport), Nance County (Fullerton), Nemaha County (Auburn), Nuckolls County (Nelson), Otoe County (Nebraska City), Pawnee County (Pawnee City), Perkins County (Grant), Phelps County (Holdrege), Pierce County (Pierce), Platte County (Columbus), Polk County (Osceola), Red Willow County (McCook), Richardson County (Falls City), Rock County (Bassett), Saline County (Wilber), Sarpy County (Papillion), Saunders County (Wahoo), Scotts Bluff County (Gering), Seward County (Seward), Sheridan County (Rushville), Sherman County (Loup City), Sioux County (Harrison), Stanton County (Stanton), Thayer County (Hebron), Thomas County (Thedford), Thurston County (Pender), Valley County (Ord), Washington County (Blair), Wayne County (Wayne), Webster County (Red Cloud), Wheeler County (Bartlett), and York County (York).
Nebraska borders South Dakota to the north, Iowa and Missouri across the Missouri River to the east, Kansas to the south, and Colorado and Wyoming to the west. The state holds 93 counties. Cherry County is the largest by land area at about 5,960 square miles, the largest county east of the Rocky Mountains, while Sarpy County is the smallest at about 238 square miles. Douglas County, home to Omaha, is the most populous at roughly 590,736 residents, while McPherson County is the least populous at roughly 399. Burt County, established in 1854, is the oldest county in the state. Nebraska covers about 77,354 square miles in total. The capital, Lincoln, sits in Lancaster County, and the state's major metros run from Omaha and Lincoln in the southeast through the Platte Valley cities of Grand Island and Kearney to Scottsbluff in the far western Panhandle. Landscape-wise, the state moves from Missouri River bluffs in the east through fertile Platte Valley farmland in the center, the grass-stabilized dunes of the Sandhills in the north-central counties, and high plains/badlands terrain in the western Panhandle.
Look at Omaha and Douglas County and you're looking at Nebraska's financial and logistics core: insurance giants, Fortune 500 headquarters, and Union Pacific's rail network all trace back to a city of about 488,837 people. Lincoln, the capital in Lancaster County, follows at about 294,856, anchored by state government and the University of Nebraska. Bellevue, in Sarpy County, comes in at roughly 64,510, tied closely to Offutt Air Force Base just south of Omaha. Further out along the Platte Valley, Grand Island in Hall County holds about 52,884 people, Kearney in Buffalo County about 34,246, and Fremont in Dodge County about 27,141. Hastings, in Adams County, sits at roughly 25,152, and Papillion, back in Sarpy County, at about 24,159. Rounding out the state's ten largest cities are Norfolk, in Madison County, and Columbus, in Platte County. Step outside these population centers and agriculture takes over most of the map: corn, soybeans, and cattle ranching dominate across the Platte Valley and the Sandhills. The Union Pacific Railroad's history runs deep through North Platte and the length of the Platte Valley corridor, a legacy still visible in the rail yards that parallel I-80 today.
Nebraska's cultural identity runs straight back to pioneer and homestead heritage, commemorated at Homestead National Historical Park in Gage County, site of one of the very first claims filed under the 1862 Homestead Act. Husker football in Lincoln is less a pastime than a statewide ritual, turning Memorial Stadium into the state's third-largest gathering point on fall Saturdays. Omaha carries its own cultural weight as the hometown of Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, and as the home of Boys Town, whose century-long history of youth care still draws visitors just west of the city. Higher education centers on the University of Nebraska, with its flagship campus anchoring Lincoln alongside the capitol and the football stadium.
On this map, the Sandhills spread across north-central Nebraska, and the Platte, Missouri, and Niobrara rivers double as landmarks for finding counties quickly; look at the map and those features alone will orient you to most of the state. For elevation, terrain, watersheds, and land-cover detail, see our Physical Map of Nebraska.
Nebraska runs a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters, and conditions turn noticeably drier and higher in elevation out in the western Panhandle compared to the more humid southeast. See our Physical Map of Nebraska for the full seasonal and biome breakdown.
Running east to west, I-80 is the spine of the state, crossing the full width through the Platte Valley from Omaha to the Wyoming line. I-680 loops around the Omaha metro, and I-129 connects South Sioux City to Sioux City, Iowa. One thing worth knowing about the map itself: county lines and ZIP code boundaries don't always line up in Nebraska. A single ZIP code can straddle two counties, so lean on the shaded county blocks here for jurisdiction rather than a ZIP lookup.
Use this as a supplementary index. Each line lists the county with its county seat, organized by the same regions as the map above.
Douglas – Omaha. Sarpy – Papillion. Washington – Blair. Cass – Plattsmouth. Otoe – Nebraska City. Nemaha – Auburn. Richardson – Falls City. Pawnee – Pawnee City. Johnson – Tecumseh.
Lancaster – Lincoln. Gage – Beatrice. Jefferson – Fairbury. Saline – Wilber. Seward – Seward. Saunders – Wahoo. Butler – David City. Polk – Osceola. York – York. Fillmore – Geneva. Thayer – Hebron. Nuckolls – Nelson. Clay – Clay Center.
Burt – Tekamah. Dakota – Dakota City. Dixon – Ponca. Cedar – Hartington. Wayne – Wayne. Thurston – Pender. Cuming – West Point. Stanton – Stanton. Colfax – Schuyler. Dodge – Fremont.
Knox – Center. Antelope – Neligh. Pierce – Pierce. Madison – Madison. Boone – Albion. Nance – Fullerton. Platte – Columbus. Merrick – Central City. Howard – Saint Paul. Wheeler – Bartlett. Holt – O'Neill. Boyd – Butte. Rock – Bassett. Sherman – Loup City. Valley – Ord. Greeley – Greeley Center. Custer – Broken Bow.
Cherry – Valentine. Brown – Ainsworth. Keya Paha – Springview. Blaine – Brewster. Loup – Taylor. Garfield – Burwell. Grant – Hyannis. Hooker – Mullen. Thomas – Thedford. McPherson – Tryon. Arthur – Arthur. Logan – Stapleton.
Sioux – Harrison. Dawes – Chadron. Box Butte – Alliance. Sheridan – Rushville. Cheyenne – Sidney. Banner – Harrisburg. Kimball – Kimball. Scotts Bluff – Gering. Morrill – Bridgeport. Garden – Oshkosh. Deuel – Chappell.
Buffalo – Kearney. Hall – Grand Island. Hamilton – Aurora. Kearney – Minden. Adams – Hastings. Franklin – Franklin. Harlan – Alma. Webster – Red Cloud. Phelps – Holdrege. Gosper – Elwood. Dawson – Lexington. Lincoln – North Platte.
Chase – Imperial. Perkins – Grant. Hayes – Hayes Center. Hitchcock – Trenton. Red Willow – McCook. Furnas – Beaver City. Frontier – Stockville. Dundy – Benkelman.
Keith – Ogallala.
This directory aligns with what you see on the map: every county and its seat, organized by region.
Nebraska has 93 counties and the map shows every one with a colored block and county seat.
County boundaries, county seats and neighboring states, with only light road references for orientation.
Lincoln in Lancaster County.
Douglas County.
Lancaster County.
In Sarpy County, part of the Omaha metro.
In Hall County, central Nebraska.
Only thin cues for corridors like I-80, I-29, and US-83 to help you place counties.
From west to east: Sioux, Dawes, Cherry, Keya Paha, Boyd, Knox.
Dakota, Thurston, Burt, Washington, Douglas, Sarpy, and Cass along the Missouri River.
Richardson and Nemaha in the far southeast corner along the Missouri River.
From west to east: Dundy, Hitchcock, Red Willow, Furnas, Harlan, Franklin, Webster, Nuckolls, Thayer, Jefferson, Gage, Richardson.
Kimball, Cheyenne, Deuel, and Perkins in the southwest Panhandle.
Kimball, Banner, Scotts Bluff, Sioux, and Box Butte.
Across north-central counties including Cherry, Grant, Hooker, Thomas, Blaine, and Rock.
Lincoln County.
Buffalo County.
Scotts Bluff County.
Madison County.
Dodge County.
Platte County.
Identify the county seat first, then read outward to rivers and light corridor lines to understand regional clusters without road clutter.
No. Printing or copying maps from this site is not permitted.
Cherry County, at about 5,960 square miles.
Sarpy County, at about 238 square miles.
Douglas County, home to Omaha, with roughly 590,736 residents.
McPherson County, with roughly 399 residents.
Omaha, in Douglas County, with about 488,837 residents.
Burt County, established in 1854.
No. ZIP codes cross county lines, so use the county boundaries and seats shown here instead.
Physical Map of Nebraska
Physical map and map image of Nebraska.
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