Counties in the Southeast Nebraska Region
- Butler County — seat David City
- Gage County — seat Beatrice
- Jefferson County — seat Fairbury
- Johnson County — seat Tecumseh
- Lancaster County — seat Lincoln
- Nemaha County — seat Auburn
- Otoe County — seat Nebraska City
- Pawnee County — seat Pawnee City
- Polk County — seat Osceola
- Richardson County — seat Falls City
- Saline County — seat Wilber
- Seward County — seat Seward
- Thayer County — seat Hebron
- York County — seat York
Corridors in the Southeast Nebraska Region
- I-80 — east–west through Lincoln, Seward County and York
- US 6 and US 34 — through Lincoln
- US 77 — north–south through Lincoln and Beatrice
- US 81 — north–south through York and Hebron
- US 75 — along the Missouri side through Nebraska City, Auburn and Falls City
- US 136 — east–west across the south through Brownville, Auburn, Tecumseh, Beatrice, Fairbury and Hebron
- NE 2 — Nebraska City to Lincoln
- NE 4 · NE 15 · NE 50 · NE 92
Trails: Pony Express (Rock Creek Station near Fairbury) · Oregon Trail · Lewis and Clark Trail (along the Missouri)
Major Towns in the Southeast Nebraska Region
Largest: Lincoln (291,082), Beatrice (12,261), York (8,066), Seward (7,643), Nebraska City (7,222) and Crete (7,099).
County seats and other towns: Falls City · Fairbury · Auburn · David City · Osceola · Stromsburg · Tecumseh · Wilber · Pawnee City · Hebron · Milford · Wymore · Peru · Brownville · Syracuse · Humboldt · Henderson · Bruno · Garland · Friend · Waverly · Hickman · Table Rock · Deshler
Every town is listed on its county page.
Southeast Nebraska
Fourteen counties in the corner of the state where Nebraska began. Lincoln, the capital, is here, and so are some of the state’s oldest towns along the Missouri — Nebraska City, Brownville and the Richardson County settlements — and Beatrice, where Daniel Freeman filed one of the first claims under the Homestead Act on January 1, 1863, on land that is now Homestead National Historical Park. About 455,000 people lived in these counties in 2020 (454,886), most of them in Lancaster County (322,608).
It is not one landscape. The eastern edge is broken loess bluff and hardwood timber falling to the Missouri; the middle is the Big Blue and Little Blue valleys and the salt flats that gave Lincoln its start; the western tier is level, irrigated tableland where the Oregon Trail and the Pony Express came through. Around Lincoln sit counties whose towns still carry the marks of who settled them — Czech at Wilber and Bruno, Swedish at Stromsburg, German at Seward and Garland, Mennonite at Henderson.
Places to see: the State Capitol, Nebraska History Museum and Morrill Hall in Lincoln; Arbor Lodge and Arbor Day Farm at Nebraska City; Peru State College and the riverside village of Brownville; Indian Cave State Park on the Missouri; Rock Creek Station State Historical Park near Fairbury; the Czech Festival at Wilber; and Branched Oak northwest of Lincoln.
Road cameras by county: Butler · Gage · Jefferson · Johnson · Lancaster · Nemaha · Otoe · Pawnee · Polk · Richardson · Saline · Seward · Thayer · York. Road conditions: Nebraska 511.
Each summary below comes from its county page, which has the full list of towns, places and businesses.
Butler County at a Glance
Butler County, Nebraska — drawn in 1856 and organized October 21, 1868; named for William O. Butler, the Kentucky congressman and Mexican War general. County seat David City, which won the seat from Savannah by 39 votes in 1873. Population 8,369 in 2020 and about 8,500 in 2025, gaining slightly; the 1900 peak was 15,703. 216 listings across 18 towns.
A Czech and German county: Czech families from Spillville, Iowa, settled Abie in 1869; Moravians named Bruno for Brno; and Dwight’s Assumption church, school and grottoes and Abie’s Sokol hall still stand.
Getting there: NE 15 runs north–south through David City; NE 92 crosses through Rising City; NE 64 and NE 66 fill in. Central Time.
Born in Butler County: Hallmark founder J. C. Hall, singer Ruth Etting, Senator Roman Hruska, painter Dale Nichols and wrestling coach Hugo Otopalik (all David City); CliffsNotes founder Clifton Hillegass and Congressman Walter Judd (Rising City); Archbishop Jerome Hanus (Brainard); and Medal of Honor recipient Ernest Kouma (Dwight).
Gage County at a Glance
Gage County, Nebraska — on the Kansas line, along the Big Blue River. County seat Beatrice; the other cities are Wymore and Blue Springs.
Getting there: US 77 from Lincoln or Kansas, US 136 from Tecumseh or Fairbury, and NE 4 from the west.
For visitors: Homestead National Historical Park, Beatrice's historic downtown and museums, the Filley Stone Barn, Wymore's Welsh heritage, Rockford Lake and the Homestead Trail. Hospital: Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center.
Jefferson County at a Glance
Jefferson County, Nebraska — on the Kansas line, along the Little Blue River. County seat Fairbury; nine villages and the unincorporated communities of Powell and Gladstone.
Getting there: US 136 from Beatrice or Hebron, NE 15 from I-80 at Seward or from Kansas, and NE 4 across the north.
For visitors: Rock Creek Station on the Oregon Trail and Pony Express, Fairbury's courthouse square and depot museum, Diller's opera house, Steele City's stone Main Street, and camping at Crystal Springs, Buckley Creek and Cub Creek. Hospital: Jefferson Community Health & Life in Fairbury.
Johnson County at a Glance
Johnson County, Nebraska — in the southeast, on the Big Nemaha River. County seat Tecumseh; villages Sterling, Cook, Elk Creek and Crab Orchard.
Getting there: US 136 from Auburn or Beatrice, and NE 50 from Syracuse or Pawnee City.
For visitors: Tecumseh's courthouse square, opera house and museums, the Cook covered bridge, the Deer Creek Sodbusters show near Sterling and Wirth Brothers Lake. Hospital: Johnson County Hospital in Tecumseh.
Lancaster County at a Glance
Lancaster County, Nebraska — created March 16, 1855, organized October 10, 1859, and named for Lancaster (England or Pennsylvania; sources differ). County seat Lincoln, the state capital. Population 322,608 at the 2020 census, the highest yet, and about 334,000 in 2025; Nebraska’s second-most-populous county. 1,659 listings across 24 towns.
The capital story: when Nebraska became a state in 1867, Omaha Sen. J. N. H. Patrick proposed naming the new capital for Abraham Lincoln, hoping lawmakers from south of the Platte would vote the move down. They did not, and the commission that set out on July 18, 1867, chose the village of Lancaster; the plat of Lincoln was finished on September 6. The Nebraska State Fair, held in Lincoln until 2009, moved to Grand Island in 2010.
Getting there: I-80 crosses north Lincoln (Exits 395–409), with I-180 and US 34 into downtown, plus US 6, US 77 and NE 2. Lincoln Airport has United, American and Breeze flights, and Amtrak’s California Zephyr stops daily each way. Central Time.
Born in Lincoln: Roscoe Pound, Loren Eiseley, Ted Sorensen, Dick Cheney, Bob Kerrey and Hilary Swank.
Nemaha County at a Glance
Nemaha County, Nebraska — on the Missouri River in the state's southeastern corner. County seat Auburn; the other city is Peru.
Getting there: US 75 from Nebraska City and Falls City, US 136 from Tecumseh and across the Brownville Bridge from Missouri.
For visitors: historic Brownville, Peru State College, Indian Cave State Park and St. Deroin, the Steamboat Trace trail and the Nemaha County Fair in Auburn. Hospital: Nemaha County Hospital in Auburn.
Otoe County at a Glance
Otoe County, Nebraska — on the Missouri River in southeastern Nebraska. County seat Nebraska City, the home of Arbor Day; the other city is Syracuse.
Getting there: NE 2 from Lincoln, US 75 from Omaha and Auburn, NE 50 from Louisville and Tecumseh, and the Nebraska City Bridge from I-29 in Iowa.
For visitors: Arbor Lodge and Arbor Day Farm, Nebraska City's museums, the AppleJack Festival, the Otoe County Fair in Syracuse and Unadilla's Groundhog Day. Hospitals: CHI Health St. Mary's in Nebraska City and Syracuse Area Health in Syracuse.
Pawnee County at a Glance
Pawnee County, Nebraska — on the Kansas line in the southeast. County seat Pawnee City; five villages: Table Rock, Du Bois, Burchard, Steinauer and Lewiston.
Getting there: NE 50 from Tecumseh or Kansas, NE 8 from Falls City, and NE 4 from Beatrice or Humboldt.
For visitors: Pawnee City's historic downtown and museum, Table Rock's museums, the Harold Lloyd Birthplace in Burchard, St. Anthony Church in Steinauer, Burchard Lake and Iron Horse Trail Lake. Hospital: Pawnee County Memorial Hospital in Pawnee City.
Polk County at a Glance
Polk County, Nebraska — boundaries drawn January 26, 1856; organized August 6, 1870; named for President James K. Polk. County seat Osceola; largest town Stromsburg. Population 5,214 in 2020 and about 5,270 in 2025, half its 1890 peak of 10,817. 221 listings across 7 towns.
Stromsburg is the Swede Capital of Nebraska, so named by Governor Frank B. Morrison in 1966. Lewis Headstrom chose the townsite in 1870 for settlers from Ockelbo, Sweden, and the town was laid out around a central square that is still its heart, with brick streets, the old Opera House (now the Viking Center) and a Swedish Festival every June since 1953.
Getting there: US 81 and NE 92 cross the county, meeting at Osceola; NE 39, NE 66 and NE 69 fill in. Central Time.
For visitors: the courthouse and county museum in Osceola; the square, Viking Center and Buckley Park in Stromsburg. Osceola was home to three Nebraska governors — Albinus Nance, John H. Mickey and Ashton Shallenberger — and the birthplace of Wyoming governor Stanley K. Hathaway; Ford president Arjay Miller was born in Shelby, and Minnesota governor Harold LeVander at Swedehome.
Richardson County at a Glance
Richardson County, Nebraska — the state's southeastern corner, on the Missouri River and the Kansas line. County seat Falls City; the other city is Humboldt.
Getting there: US 75 from Auburn or Kansas, US 73 and US 159 from Kansas, and US 159 across the Missouri at Rulo.
For visitors: Falls City's museums and historic downtown, Humboldt's square, Indian Cave State Park, Verdon State Recreation Area, Kirkman's Cove and the county fair in Humboldt. Hospital: Community Medical Center in Falls City.
Saline County at a Glance
Saline County, Nebraska — southwest of Lincoln along the Big Blue River. County seat Wilber, the Czech Capital of the USA; the largest city is Crete, home of Doane University.
Getting there: US 6 across the north, NE 33 and NE 103 from Lincoln and I-80, and NE 15 from Seward or Fairbury.
For visitors: the Wilber Czech Festival and Czech Museum, Doane University and historic Crete, the county museum at Dorchester, Warren's Opera House in Friend, and camping at Tuxedo Park, Legion Memorial Park and the NRD lakes. Hospitals: Crete Area Medical Center; Friend Community Healthcare System.
Seward County at a Glance
Seward County, Nebraska — created March 16, 1855, as Greene County; renamed in 1862 for William H. Seward, Lincoln’s secretary of state; organized October 1, 1865. County seat Seward. Population 17,609 at the 2020 census, the highest ever, and about 18,000 in 2025; part of the Lincoln metropolitan area. 320 listings across 14 towns.
Seward is Nebraska’s Official Fourth of July City (Governor Exon, 1973) and America’s Official Fourth of July City – Small Town USA (Congress, 1979), and has celebrated on the square since 1868. Garland was Germantown until 1918, when it was renamed for its first soldier to die in World War I.
Getting there: I-80 crosses the county with six exits; US 34 and NE 15 meet in Seward, and US 6 runs through Milford. Central Time.
Born here: actress Coleen Gray (Staplehurst), Culver City founder Harry Culver (Milford), evangelist F. F. Bosworth (near Utica), and Karmin’s Amy Heidemann, NFL center Quentin Neujahr and pitcher Thad Weber (Seward).
Thayer County at a Glance
Thayer County, Nebraska — on the Kansas line along the Little Blue River. County seat Hebron; Deshler is the other city, with nine villages.
Getting there: US 81 from York or Kansas, US 136 from Fairbury or Superior, and NE 4 across the north.
For visitors: Hebron's porch swing, courthouse and post office mural, the county museum at Belvidere, Bruning's opera house and balloon-flight marker, six-man football's home at Chester, and camping at Alexandria Lakes and Bruning Dam. Hospital: Thayer County Health Services in Hebron.
York County at a Glance
York County, Nebraska — created March 16, 1855, and organized April 26, 1870. Sources disagree on the name: some credit York, England, others settlers from York County, Pennsylvania. County seat York. Population 14,125 in 2020 and about 14,560 in 2025, below its 1910 peak of 18,721. 310 listings across 11 towns.
This is Mennonite country. Thirty-five families from South Russia came in 1874, about eighty by 1878, settling on railroad land around what became Henderson; they brought Turkey Red hard winter wheat, the variety that remade farming on the Great Plains, and most of Henderson still descends from them. The Henderson Mennonite Heritage Park keeps the story.
Getting there: I-80 and US 81 cross at York, Exit 353; US 34 runs east–west through York and NE 69 north through Gresham. Central Time.
For visitors: Wessels Living History Farm, the Clayton Museum of Ancient History, Recharge Lake and Yorkfest in York; the Mennonite Heritage Park in Henderson; Junction Motor Speedway at McCool Junction. Born in York: silent-film director Fred Niblo, Congressman Doug Bereuter and NFL punter Sam Koch; jockey David Erb, who won the 1956 Kentucky Derby, grew up on a farm near York.