Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Apr. 30, 2014 Common Class A [Member]	Apr. 30, 2014 Common Class B [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	NATIONAL RESEARCH CORP
Document Type	10-Q
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		20,808,304	3,480,217
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000070487
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1