[3] In the Nebraska license plate system, Holt County is represented by the prefix 36 (it had the 36th-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Holt County was created by an act of the Nebraska Territory Legislature in 1862, and was organized in 1876.

[4][5][6] It is named for Joseph Holt of Kentucky, who was postmaster general and secretary of war under President James Buchanan.

The terrain of Holt County consists of low, rolling hills, with the flattened areas used for agriculture.

As of the 2000 United States Census,[13] 11,551 people, 4,608 households, and 3,170 families were residing in the county.

Holt County voters have historically tended to vote Republican.