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Traffic heat map of Kearney County, Nebraska: 153 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on NE 44 / I 80 Alt and NE 44

Kearney County, Nebraska Traffic Counts

Its busiest road, NE 44 / I 80 Alt, carries 11,525 vehicles a day, 4.0 times the average road. This page breaks down traffic in Kearney County, Nebraska across 153 miles of monitored roads split into 928 segments, using multi-sourced mobile and sensor data. It goes beyond raw counts to truck flow, congestion and who is driving, so site selection and route planning rest on evidence.
Data sourced from TrafficZoom's proprietary analytics platform.
Data current as of:
Q3 2026
Updated:
September 29, 2026
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total traffic icon

Total Traffic Volume & Performance in Kearney County, Nebraska

Traffic

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

vehicles per day2,862
Trucks

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

8.2%
Average travel time

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

35.7 min
Drivers’ average age

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

47.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income

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

$74,747

The average monitored road in Kearney County, Nebraska carries 2,862 vehicles per day. Across its 153 miles of monitored roads, that adds up to 376,097 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈137 million per year). Trucks are a smaller part of the mix than across Nebraska: 8.2% against 11.5%.

Busier roads than 88% of counties in Nebraska

At 2,862 vehicles per day, the average monitored road in Kearney carries 20% less traffic than the state average of 3,598, suggesting less demand on each road - a critical factor for logistics and site planning. Across the whole network, that travel is about 0.7% of Nebraska's statewide total. 88% of counties in Nebraska see less traffic than Kearney's 2,862 vehicles per day.

Journey times run 8% higher than the state level, at 35.7 minutes on average. 50% of counties in Nebraska have a shorter average travel time than Kearney's 35.7 minutes.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in Kearney County, Nebraska

Trafficvehicles per day3,267
Trucks11.8%
Average travel time40.6 min
Drivers’ average age49.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income$75,846

Highways carry a smaller share of travel in Kearney County, Nebraska, 28% of vehicle-miles; most driving happens on local roads. The average highway carries 3,267 vehicles per day, 17% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 2,794 vehicles per day.

With 18% of the road miles (27 miles in 133 segments), highways punch above their length, carrying 105,713 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈38.6 million per year).

Lower highway truck share than 80% of counties in Nebraska

The concentration of trucks on highways (11.8%) is 33% lower than the state average for similar road classifications. Highways here mostly serve passenger trips, so local access matters more than long-haul routing for logistics operators.

80% of counties in Nebraska see a higher highway truck share than Kearney's 11.8%. 53% of counties in Nebraska see fewer highway trucks per day than Kearney's roughly 385.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Kearney County, Nebraska

Trafficvehicles per day2,794
Trucks6.7%
Average travel time34.9 min
Drivers’ average age47.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income$74,296

Most travel in Kearney County, Nebraska happens on local roads, 72% of all vehicle-miles. On the average non-highway road, that comes to 2,794 vehicles per day.

Local roads also make up about 82% of the monitored road miles: 126 miles in 795 segments, together carrying 270,384 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈98.7 million per year). The truck share on non-highway roads is 6.7%.

Younger drivers than 81% of counties in Nebraska

The concentration of trucks on non-highway roads is 43% lower than on highways.

74% of counties in Nebraska see lower average driver income among trip origins than Kearney. Kearney's median driver age is lower than 81% of counties in Nebraska.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

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

Kearney County vs. Nebraska Traffic Comparison

Of the four measures, highway truck share differs most: Kearney County runs 33% below the Nebraska average. Its truck share is also 29% below.

MetricKearney CountyNebraska averageDifference
Traffic2,8623,598-20.5%
Truck % (Total Traffic)8.2%11.5%-29.2%
Truck % (Highway)11.8%17.6%-33.0%
Avg. Travel Time35.7 min33.0 min+8.1%

How Kearney County compares

Kearney County against nearby counties

Nothing in this table sets Kearney County sharply apart from the 4 areas nearest to it, though it has the third busiest roads of the five. The same kind of road, just less of it: traffic per road matches the areas around it while the network itself is smaller.

Kearney 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
Kearney County2,8628.2%376,09735.7 minN/A
Franklin County, Nebraska7858.1%89,50433.7 minN/A
Adams County, Nebraska2,7156.5%502,82835.6 minN/A
Phelps County, Nebraska3,0199.0%331,92538.2 minN/A
Buffalo County, Nebraska4,94215.4%2,015,91833.2 min4.0%
Nebraska average3,59811.5%N/A33.0 min17.5%

Kearney County ranked within Nebraska

Kearney County sits in the top quarter of the Nebraska field on average daily traffic volume, at #12 of 93.

Kearney County ranked among 93 county-level areas in Nebraska (1 = highest); measures without data in every county rank a smaller field, down to 61.
MeasureKearney CountyNebraska rank
Traffic volume (AADT)2,862#12 of 93
Highway vehicle-miles per day105,713#36 of 61
Truck share on highways11.8%#49 of 61
Highway trucks per day385#29 of 61
Average travel time35.7 min#47 of 93
Average driver income$74,747#25 of 93
Average driver age47.8 yrs#75 of 93

The two ends of this table sit far apart: #12 of 93 on average daily traffic volume, against #75 of 93 on average driver age.

Busiest roads in Kearney County, Nebraska

On their busiest stretches, the three busiest roads in Kearney County carry 9,990 vehicles a day on average, 3.5 times the typical road in the county (2,862).

NE 44 / I 80 Alt is the busiest road, at 11,525 vehicles a day, 595 of them trucks (5.2%). US 6 carries the most trucks, 1,016 a day (11.7% of its traffic), although it ranks #3 for all traffic.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1NE 44 / I 80 AltSecondary road · 11,525vehicles595trucks · 5.2%
Road class
Secondary road
Median trip time
35.3 min
Drivers’ median age
45.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$77,742

NE 44 / I 80 Alt carries 4.0 times the county average at its busiest, 595 of them trucks (5.2%, below the county-wide 8.2%).

2NE 44Secondary road · 9,767vehicles656trucks · 6.7%
Road class
Secondary road
Median trip time
36.1 min
Drivers’ median age
46.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$76,676

NE 44 carries 3.4 times the county average on its busiest stretch, where the median trip lasts 36.1 minutes.

3US 6Trunk road · 8,678vehicles1,016trucks · 11.7%
Road class
Trunk road
Median trip time
39.4 min
Drivers’ median age
48.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$74,326

At 3.0 times the county average, US 6 draws drivers from neighborhoods averaging $74,326 in household income.

4Brown AvenueSecondary road · 6,324vehicles332trucks · 5.3%
Road class
Secondary road
Median trip time
31.0 min
Drivers’ median age
49.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$70,273

The busiest stretch of Brown Avenue carries 2.2 times the county average; trucks are 5.3% of it, below the county-wide 8.2%.

5NE 10Secondary road · 5,684vehicles376trucks · 6.6%
Road class
Secondary road
Median trip time
34.9 min
Drivers’ median age
48.9 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$73,621

On its busiest stretch, NE 10 carries 2.0 times the county average; trucks are 6.6% of it, below the county-wide 8.2%.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1US 6Trunk road · #3 by traffic8,678vehicles1,016trucks · 11.7%
2NE 44Secondary road · #2 by traffic9,767vehicles656trucks · 6.7%
3NE 44 / I 80 AltSecondary road · #1 by traffic11,525vehicles595trucks · 5.2%
4NE 10Secondary road · #5 by traffic5,684vehicles376trucks · 6.6%
5Brown AvenueSecondary road · #4 by traffic6,324vehicles332trucks · 5.3%
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

KearneyDepartment 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 Kearney County

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

Need segment-level traffic data?

Identify traffic patterns street by street and analyze the exact corridors that matter to your project.