Broken Bow is a city in Custer County, Nebraska, United States.

[5] Its name, likely suggested by a settler who found a broken bow in a field at the site of a former Native American camping ground, was submitted by homesteader Wilson Hewitt to the U.S. Post Office Department.

[6] The railroad was built through Broken Bow in 1884, and the town was incorporated as a village that same year.

[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.90 square miles (4.92 km2), all land.

[8] The geographic center of Nebraska lies approximately 10 miles southwest of Broken Bow.

38.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

36.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Nebraska's largest cattle feedlot, the Adams Land and Cattle south lot, with a capacity of 85,000 head, is located 2 miles south of Broken Bow.