Document And Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jul. 29, 2016
Common Class B [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		3,541,433
Common Class A [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		20,900,082
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
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Flag	false