The following is a list of people from Pawnee County, Nebraska. Inclusion on the list should be reserved for notable people from the present and past who have resided in the county.

• David Butler, first governor of Nebraska (1867–1871)
• Charles H. Corlett, major general in the U.S. Army who commanded troops in both the Pacific and European Theaters during World War II
• John H. Eastwood, US Army Air Corps chaplain, World War II
• William Alden Edson, scientist and engineer specializing in vacuum tube oscillators, radar, antennas and microwave technologies
• Lavon Heidemann, state Senator (District 1)
• Robert E. Holthus, Thoroughbred racehorse trainer
• Harold Lloyd, silent film actor
• William R. Lyman, football player
• Irish McCalla, actress
• Kenneth S. Wherry, U.S. Senator from Nebraska 1943–51; Senate Republican Leader
• Daniel Lawrence Whitney, comedian known as "Larry the Cable Guy"