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Welcome to North Platte ...

The city of North Platte is located in Lincoln County<1> and is the County Seat for Lincoln County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of North Platte, you might get a feel for it by knowing that the earliest mention that we've found (so far) was on a map dated 1895.

A typical abbreviation for North Platte: N. Platte

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, North Platte has a population of 23,588 people<2> (see below for details).

North Platte is 2,800 feet [853 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the altitude of North Platte is about ½ mile above sea level.

Time Zone: North Platte lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Note: If you travel west from North Platte (for example, toward Paxton), you will leave Central Time and cross into the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT).

Area Code for North Platte: 308

The ZIP codes for North Platte: 69101, 69103<4>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, North Platte had an population of 23,588 people. This is a decrease of 4.63% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 1.21% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, North Platte had a population of 24,733 people (or 68.23% of the total population of Lincoln County). This makes North Platte the county's most populous community.

The population of North Platte represents 1.35% of the total population of Nebraska (which has 1,826,341 people), making it the state's 8th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 24,733 people, the population of North Platte increased 3.58% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 23,878 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for North Platte.

Websites for North Platte ...

Official Website:   www.ci.north-platte.ne.us/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.northplattechamber.com/

Communities near North Platte ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near North Platte.

  • Sutherland
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Hershey
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hershey have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hershey
    • Hershey is located in Lincoln County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 644 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hershey <5>
  • Maxwell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxwell have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
    • Maxwell is located in Lincoln County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maxwell <5>
  • Birdwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Birdwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<7>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdwood
    • Birdwood is located in Lincoln County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Birdwood
    • From North Platte to Birdwood
  • Bignell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • O'Fallons
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for O'Fallons. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<7>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Fallons
    • O'Fallons is located in Lincoln County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to O'Fallons
    • From North Platte to O'Fallons
  • Brady
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brady have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
    • Brady is located in Lincoln County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brady <5>
  • Somerset
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Somerset have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
    • Somerset is located in Lincoln County
  • Dickens
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dickens have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
    • Dickens is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dickens <5>
  • Ringgold
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around North Platte. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for North Platte.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of North Platte. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around North Platte.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around North Platte. Our list includes 52 papers. See our Newspapers Page for North Platte.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for North Platte ...

Looking for more information about North Platte? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for North Platte, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for North Platte.

Adding North Platte to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of North Platte in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for North Platte was on a map titled Map of Nebraska (from Rand McNally, 1895).

We also found North Platte on a map titled Map of the Lincoln Highway (1915-1916).

For more details, see References and Mentions for North Platte.

The official website for North Platte: www.ci.north-platte.ne.us/

The official website for Lincoln County: www.co.lincoln.ne.us/

The official website for State of Nebraska: https://www.nebraska.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Nebraska's counties, including Lincoln, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for North Platte.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around North Platte - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as North Platte). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether North Platte or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<7>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025