Howard County is part of the Grand Island, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area.
In the Nebraska license plate system, Howard County is represented by the prefix 49 (it had the forty-ninth-largest number of vehicles registered in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).
1880 - 4,391 1890 - 9,430 1900 - 10,343 1910 - 10,783 1920 - 10,739 1930 - 10,020 1940 - 8,422 1950 - 7,226 1960 - 6,541 1970 - 6,807 1980 - 6,773 1990 - 6,057 2000 - 6,567
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,567 people, 2,546 households, and 1,797 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 2,782 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.69% White, 0.30% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.32% from two or more races. 1.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,546 households out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.00% were married couples living together, 6.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the county the population was spread out with 28.30% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 17.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 101.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $33,305, and the median income for a family was $40,259. Males had a median income of $27,270 versus $19,587 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,535. About 8.50% of families and 11.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.30% of those under age 18 and 15.00% of those age 65 or over.