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Traffic heat map of Howard County, Nebraska: 131 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on 2nd Street and NE 281

Howard County, Nebraska Traffic Counts

TrafficZoom tracks traffic on 131 road miles in Howard County, Nebraska, divided into 1,019 segments averaging 678 ft. Its busiest road, 2nd Street, carries 5,694 vehicles a day, 5.0 times the average road. Built from cross-verified mobile and road-sensor data, these counts help you size up a retail site, plan logistics routes or assess infrastructure needs.
Data sourced from TrafficZoom's proprietary analytics platform.
Data current as of:
Q3 2026
Updated:
September 29, 2026
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Total Traffic Volume & Performance in Howard County, Nebraska

Traffic

The average number of vehicles that travel each day over any road in the road network.

vehicles per day1,150
Trucks

The percentage of the total traffic volume composed of heavy vehicles.

8.4%
Average travel time

The average time of travel averaged among all vehicles traveling on the road network.

36.2 min
Drivers’ average age

Average age of residents in the geographic areas where the vehicle trips originated.

50.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income

Average income of residents in the geographic areas where the vehicle trips originated.

$69,253

Our data shows 1,150 vehicles per day on the average road in Howard County, Nebraska, and 147,442 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈53.8 million per year) across its 131 miles of monitored roads. Trucks are a smaller part of the mix than across Nebraska: 8.4% against 11.5%.

Traffic 68% below the Nebraska average

Howard sees 68% lower average daily traffic volume than the state average (1,150 vehicles per day against 3,598), suggesting less demand on each road - very light roads: easy truck access, but little passing trade for roadside retail. In total volume terms, its road network carries about 0.3% of Nebraska's statewide total of vehicle-miles. 58% of counties in Nebraska see more traffic than Howard's 1,150 vehicles per day.

The average trip takes 36.2 minutes, 10% higher than the state level. 55% of counties in Nebraska have a shorter average travel time than Howard's 36.2 minutes.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In Howard County, Nebraska, the peak hour concentrates about 8% of the day's traffic.

Howard County vs. Nebraska Traffic Comparison

The average daily traffic per road sets Howard County apart: 68% below the Nebraska average. Its truck share is also 27% below.

MetricHoward CountyNebraska averageDifference
Traffic1,1503,598-68.0%
Truck % (Total Traffic)8.4%11.5%-27.3%
Avg. Travel Time36.2 min33.0 min+9.7%

How Howard County compares

Howard County against nearby counties

Against the 4 nearest areas, Howard County moves 37.4% of the total daily travel; it has the third busiest roads of the five.

Howard County and the 4 nearest county-level areas by centroid distance, with the Nebraska average for scale.
AreaAverage daily trafficTruck shareDaily vehicle-milesAverage travel timeCongestion ratio
Howard County1,1508.4%147,44236.2 minN/A
Hall County, Nebraska2,77713.5%1,203,68434.4 minN/A
Merrick County, Nebraska1,36611.8%224,39441.0 minN/A
Sherman County, Nebraska7589.2%96,94241.8 minN/A
Greeley County, Nebraska6029.0%50,29645.8 minN/A
Nebraska average3,59811.5%N/A33.0 min17.5%

Howard County ranked within Nebraska

On all 4 measures below, Howard County lands in the middle of the Nebraska field rather than at either end.

Howard County ranked among 93 county-level areas in Nebraska (1 = highest).
MeasureHoward CountyNebraska rank
Traffic volume (AADT)1,150#54 of 93
Average travel time36.2 min#42 of 93
Average driver income$69,253#41 of 93
Average driver age50.4 yrs#53 of 93

Busiest roads in Howard County, Nebraska

Traffic concentrates on a few corridors: the three busiest roads average 3,811 vehicles a day, against 1,150 on the average road in Howard County.

2nd Street is the busiest road, at 5,694 vehicles a day, 465 of them trucks (8.2%). No other road comes close: NE 281, in second place, carries 3,683. It tops the truck ranking too, with the most trucks.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
12nd StreetPrimary road · 5,694vehicles465trucks · 8.2%
Road class
Primary road
Median trip time
34.4 min
Drivers’ median age
50.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$68,446

On its busiest stretch, 2nd Street carries 5.0 times the county average; trucks are 8.2% of it, in line with the county-wide 8.4%.

2NE 281Primary road · 3,683vehicles359trucks · 9.7%
Road class
Primary road
Median trip time
36.3 min
Drivers’ median age
50.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$72,169

NE 281 peaks at 3,683 vehicles a day, 3.2 times the county average; trucks are 9.7% of it, above the county-wide 8.4%.

3Highway 11Secondary road · 2,056vehicles150trucks · 7.3%
Road class
Secondary road
Median trip time
38.0 min
Drivers’ median age
49.3 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$66,641

Highway 11 peaks at 2,056 vehicles a day, 79% more than the county average; trucks are 7.3% of it, below the county-wide 8.4%.

4NE 92Secondary road · 1,258vehicles91trucks · 7.2%
Road class
Secondary road
Median trip time
43.3 min
Drivers’ median age
52.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$64,041

NE 92 carries 9% more than the county average at its busiest, 91 of them trucks (7.2%, below the county-wide 8.4%).

5NE 11Secondary road · 1,153vehicles76trucks · 6.6%
Road class
Secondary road
Median trip time
43.2 min
Drivers’ median age
50.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$61,780

NE 11 is a quieter road: its busiest stretch carries about the same as the county average; trucks are 6.6% of it, below the county-wide 8.4%.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
12nd StreetPrimary road · #1 by traffic5,694vehicles465trucks · 8.2%
2NE 281Primary road · #2 by traffic3,683vehicles359trucks · 9.7%
3Highway 11Secondary road · #3 by traffic2,056vehicles150trucks · 7.3%
4NE 92Secondary road · #4 by traffic1,258vehicles91trucks · 7.2%
5NE 11Secondary road · #5 by traffic1,153vehicles76trucks · 6.6%
How to read these road counts
  • The first number is AADT, annual average daily traffic: the vehicles passing a point on an average day, both directions combined and trucks included. On a divided highway both carriageways are added together.
  • Traffic changes along a road, with more near interchanges and towns and less in open country. Every figure for a road describes its busiest stretch in the county, so the two rankings show the same numbers for the same road.
  • The second number is the trucks on that stretch, a part of its AADT. The bar splits the AADT into cars and light vehicles (blue) and trucks (amber).
  • See segment-level AADT for any road on TrafficZoom.

Data Sources & Methodology

The data presented on this page is derived from TrafficZoom's proprietary analytics platform, which aggregates and normalizes information from multiple sources, including:

Mobile device location data (anonymized and aggregated)

Road sensor networks and traffic counters

Historical traffic pattern databases

Public traffic count programs published by the

HowardDepartment of Transportation

Demographic Baseline for O-D Modeling

U.S. Census Bureau
All metrics represent estimates based on statistical modeling and are intended for strategic planning purposes.
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Data current as of:
Q3 2026

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Counties near Howard County

The same traffic breakdown for the areas closest to Howard County, Nebraska.

Need segment-level traffic data?

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