Knox County, Nebraska

Knox County is a county in Nebraska, United States, along the Missouri River in the state’s northeastern corner. It had a population of 8,391 at the 2020 census and covers 1,139 square miles (2,950 km2) centred near 42°38′N 97°53′W.

Center is the county seat, and its postal code is 68724. The county has three cities (Bloomfield, Creighton and Crofton), eight villages (Bazile Mills, Center, Niobrara, Santee, Verdel, Verdigre, Wausa and Winnetoon) and eight unincorporated communities. Knox County lies in the Central time zone.

Towns & Villages in Knox County

Nineteen named places are recognised across Knox County: three incorporated cities, eight incorporated villages and eight unincorporated communities. CDP stands for census-designated place; Unincorp. marks a settlement with no municipal government of its own.

Santee is the seat of the Santee Sioux Nation and sits on tribal trust land along the Missouri River; it does not carry its own five-digit ZIP code in current postal records. Center, the county seat, is a village rather than a city — one of a handful of Nebraska county seats too small to incorporate as a city.

ZIP Codes

• 68724 — Center (also serves the county seat area)
• 68729 — Creighton
• 68718 — Bloomfield
• 68730 — Crofton
• 68760 — Niobrara
• 68783 — Verdigre
• 68786 — Wausa
• 68789 — Winnetoon

Santee, Verdel, Bazile Mills and the county’s unincorporated communities are not post office towns in their own right; mail there is addressed through the nearest listed ZIP.

Geography

Knox County sits where the Niobrara River meets the Missouri River, and the Missouri forms the county’s entire northern edge. Lewis and Clark Lake, a reservoir on the Missouri behind Gavins Point Dam, backs up into the county’s northeastern corner near Verdel and Crofton, and Niobrara State Park sits at the mouth of the Niobrara. The land totals 1,108 square miles, with 31 square miles of water — about 2.8% of the county — making it one of Nebraska’s largest counties by area. Terrain rises from the river bottoms in the north to rolling farmland and grazing land across the rest of the county.

Knox County borders Boyd County to the northwest, Charles Mix County, South Dakota to the north, Bon Homme County, South Dakota and Yankton County, South Dakota to the northeast, Cedar County to the east, Pierce County to the southeast, Antelope County to the south, and Holt County to the west.

Demographics

Knox County recorded 8,391 residents at the 2020 census, spread across a mostly rural county with a density of roughly 7.6 people per square mile. Creighton and Bloomfield are its two largest communities. Median household income in the county runs below the Nebraska median of $74,590, in line with most of the state’s farm counties, where income is tied closely to commodity prices and land values rather than wage employment.

Economy & Local Life

Row-crop and livestock agriculture — corn, soybeans and cattle — anchors the Knox County economy, supported by grain elevators and implement dealers in Creighton, Bloomfield and Crofton. The Santee Sioux Nation, headquartered in Santee, operates tribal government and social-service offices in the county’s northeast and holds land along the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark Lake and Niobrara State Park draw seasonal boating, fishing and camping traffic from across northeast Nebraska and southeast South Dakota, and Crofton’s Old Mill Golf Course and riverside campgrounds cater to the same visitors.

History

Knox County was organized in 1857 under the name L’Eau Qui Court County, a French phrase meaning “Running Water,” after the Niobrara River. A statute passed February 21, 1873, renamed it Knox County effective April 1, 1873, honoring Continental Army Major General Henry Knox. In March 2019, historic flooding on the Niobrara River — triggered in part by the failure of the Spencer Dam upstream — devastated the village of Niobrara, forcing a relocation of parts of the community to higher ground, one of the defining events in the county’s recent history.

Getting There

U.S. Highway 20 crosses the county east–west through Center and Bloomfield, and Nebraska Highway 12 follows the Missouri River through Verdel, Niobrara, Verdigre and Crofton. Nebraska Highway 13 runs north–south through Creighton.

• Norfolk, Nebraska — about 35 miles south of Center
• Yankton, South Dakota — about 20 miles northeast of Crofton
• Sioux City, Iowa — about 70 miles east of Crofton
• O’Neill, Nebraska — about 45 miles west of Center

The nearest regional airport is at Norfolk; Sioux City Gateway Airport, about 70 miles east, offers the closest larger commercial service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Knox County, Nebraska?
It sits in the state’s northeastern corner, along the Missouri River, bordering South Dakota to the north.

What is the population of Knox County?
8,391 at the 2020 census.

How big is Knox County?
1,139 square miles (2,950 km2) in total, including 31 square miles of water.

What is the county seat of Knox County?
Center, a village rather than a city, is the county seat.

How many towns and villages are in Knox County?
Three cities, eight villages and eight unincorporated communities — 19 named places in all.

What ZIP codes are in Knox County?
Eight, covering Center, Creighton, Bloomfield, Crofton, Niobrara, Verdigre, Wausa and Winnetoon.

What tribal nation is based in Knox County?
The Santee Sioux Nation, headquartered in the village of Santee on the Missouri River.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Nebraska.