Curtis, Nebraska

History

Curtis was laid out in 1886, soon after the railroad was extended to that point. The community has the name of a trapper who operated in the area. Curtis is home to Medicine Valley Schools, which was formed in 1969. The school name is derived from its location in the Medicine Creek Valley.

Curtis describes itself as "Nebraska's Easter City", and presents an annual pageant on Palm Sunday.

In 2021, the town proposed a program to increase the population offering free land if you have a house built and financial incentives for enrolling children into the public school system.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.20 sqmi, all land.

Climate

| Jan record high F = 77 | Feb record high F = 80 | Mar record high F = 92 | Apr record high F = 96 | May record high F = 102 | Jun record high F = 113 | Jul record high F = 114 | Aug record high F = 111 | Sep record high F = 108 | Oct record high F = 97 | Nov record high F = 85 | Dec record high F = 78 | year record high F = 114

|Jan avg record high F = 64.1 |Feb avg record high F = 68.4 |Mar avg record high F = 77.6 |Apr avg record high F = 86.4 |May avg record high F = 91.8 |Jun avg record high F = 98.3 |Jul avg record high F = 102.8 |Aug avg record high F = 100.8 |Sep avg record high F = 96.9 |Oct avg record high F = 88.7 |Nov avg record high F = 76.1 |Dec avg record high F = 65.3 |year avg record high F = 103.9

|Jan avg record low F = -7.3 |Feb avg record low F = -3.4 |Mar avg record low F = 7.2 |Apr avg record low F = 20.7 |May avg record low F = 31.2 |Jun avg record low F = 44.4 |Jul avg record low F = 52.2 |Aug avg record low F = 50.0 |Sep avg record low F = 34.8 |Oct avg record low F = 20.8 |Nov avg record low F = 5.8 |Dec avg record low F = -4.3 |year avg record low F = -12.3

| Jan record low F = −32 | Feb record low F = −32 | Mar record low F = −26 | Apr record low F = -1 | May record low F = 10 | Jun record low F = 29 | Jul record low F = 39 | Aug record low F = 34 | Sep record low F = 20 | Oct record low F = −1 | Nov record low F = −20 | Dec record low F = −33 | year record low F = −33 | access-date = December 10, 2021}}

Demographics

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2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 939 people, 365 households, and 193 families residing in the city. The population density was 782.5 PD/sqmi. There were 426 housing units at an average density of 355.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 97.7% White, 0.6% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.1% of the population.

There were 365 households, of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.1% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.98.

The median age in the city was 27.6 years. 22.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 23.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.4% were from 25 to 44; 19.1% were from 45 to 64; and 14.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 832 people, 336 households, and 193 families residing in the city. The population density was 693.0 PD/sqmi. There were 381 housing units at an average density of 317.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 96.88% White, 0.24% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.72% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population.

There were 336 households, out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 18.4% from 18 to 24, 21.0% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.6 males.

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $26,667, and the median income for a family was $36,458. Males had a median income of $28,500 versus $16,324 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,943. About 14.3% of families and 21.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Medicine Valley Public Schools school district.

Healthcare

The Curtis Clinic, which is operated by McCook Community Hospital, was established circa 1995. In 2025 the hospital announced that it will close the clinic as it is not sure it will have enough funding to operate it due to the passage of Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. One monetary source expected to decline is Medicaid.

References

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
2. {{cite gnis2. 2393700. Curtis, Nebraska
3. "Profile of Curtis, Nebraska in 2020". United States Census Bureau.
4. "Curtis, Frontier County". University of Nebraska.
5. Federal Writers' Project. (1938). "Origin of Nebraska place names". Works Progress Administration.
6. [http://www.curtis-ne.com/ Curtis, Nebraska's Easter City] {{webarchive. link. (2010-05-31 (City of Curtis website). Retrieved 2010-05-28.)
7. "Free Land, No-Strings Cash Aim to Tempt People to Small Midwestern Towns".
8. "US Gazetteer files 2010". [[United States Census Bureau]].
9. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
10. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
11. Geography Division. (January 14, 2021). "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Frontier County, NE". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
12. McCarty, Joseph. (2025-07-03). "Rural southwest Nebraska clinic closes, blaming expected Medicaid cuts". [[KLKN-TV]].
13. Olberding, Matt. (2025-07-03). "Southwest Nebraska medical center announces plans to close, blames uncertainty over funding". [[Nebraska Public Media]].