Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Feb. 22, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Common Class A [Member]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		20,894,893
Common Class B [Member]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		3,517,992
Entity Registrant Name	National Research Corporation
Entity Central Index Key	0000070487
Trading Symbol	nrci
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Public Float			$ 259,273,234
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false