[4] In the Nebraska license plate system, Saunders County is represented by the prefix 6 (the county had the sixth-largest number of vehicles registered in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Saunders County was established by an 1856 act of the Nebraska Territorial Legislature, and was organized in 1866;[5][6] its boundaries were redefined in 1858.

[8] Other sources contend that it was named for John C. Calhoun of South Carolina.

[9] In 1862, during the American Civil War, it was renamed after Nebraska territorial governor Alvin Saunders.

[10] Saunders County is bordered on the north and east by the Platte River.

Several local drainages move runoff water from the county eastward into the Platte.

The county terrain is composed of low rolling hills,[11] which slope eastward and northeastward to the river valley.

In only two national elections since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024)