Lincoln County is part of the North Platte, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area.
In the Nebraska license plate system, Lincoln County is represented by the prefix 15 (it had the fifteenth-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).
1870 - 17 1880 - 3,632 1890 - 10,441 1900 - 11,416 1910 - 15,684 1920 - 23,420 1930 - 25,627 1940 - 25,425 1950 - 27,380 1960 - 28,491 1970 - 29,538 1980 - 36,455 1990 - 32,508 2000 - 34,632
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,632 people, 14,076 households, and 9,444 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile (5/km²). There are 15,438 housing units in Lincoln. (6/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 94.70% White, 0.54% Black or African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.65% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. 5.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 14,076 households out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.90% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 26.60% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,568, and the median income for a family was $45,185. Males had a median income of $36,244 versus $20,252 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,696. About 7.20% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.10% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.