York is the county seat of York County and by far its largest community, with a 2020 Census population of 8,066. Platted in 1869 and named for York County itself — whose own name is disputed among historians as honoring either York, England, or early settlers from York County, Pennsylvania — the city grew as a rail and market hub for the surrounding agricultural county and quickly became its seat of government.

York sits at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 81, a significant crossroads in southeastern Nebraska that has long shaped its role as a regional commercial center. The city is home to York University (known as York College from its 1890 founding by the United Brethren Church until a 2022 rebrand), a private university affiliated with the Churches of Christ since the mid-1950s; it enrolls roughly 440 students on a 50-acre campus and fields NAIA athletic teams, the Panthers. Also in town: Lee's Legendary Marbles and Collectables, billed as home to the world's largest collection of marbles, and the Art Deco York Auditorium, completed in 1940.

Since 1920, York has been home to the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women (originally the State Reformatory for Women). Notable natives and residents include longtime U.S. Representative Doug Bereuter (1979–2004), 1956 Kentucky Derby-winning jockey David Erb, longtime Baltimore Ravens punter Sam Koch, early Hollywood director Fred Niblo, and actress/singer Shirley Ross.

York, the county seat of York County (pop. 8,066), sits at the junction of I-80 and U.S. 81 and is home to York University (formerly York College, founded 1890) and Lee's Legendary Marbles and Collectables, billed as the world's largest marble collection.