The local economy of Nebraska and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
2.9%
0.0 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Pierce County 1.7%, highest Dawson County 16.4%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,274
+3.7%vs a year ago
1,008,180 jobs at 78,898 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
10,519
-3.6%this year vs last year
Most in Douglas County 4,085, Sarpy County 2,074.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-1,852
-1.1 per 1,000residents
38,810 moved in and 40,662 moved out. Most newcomers came from Iowa.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Nebraska gas price
$4.23
+$1.35vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Pawnee County $3.90, highest Blaine County $5.30. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Nebraska, October 10, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
57K
+0.3%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
923K
+3.7%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (15.5%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$53.1B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$57,518
Highest sector: Utilities $177,351.
Per employee per year
Share of Nebraska's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 65,230 | $20,396 |
| Employment Services | 64,217 | $65,433 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 40,956 | $74,115 |
| Animal Slaughtering and Processing | 30,539 | $58,442 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 24,341 | $86,769 |
| Grocery Stores | 21,929 | $20,800 |
| Insurance Carriers | 21,806 | $91,793 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 20,641 | $78,065 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 19,757 | $68,640 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 17,332 | $30,134 |
| Offices of Physicians | 14,975 | $112,972 |
| Services to Buildings and Dwellings | 12,474 | $39,179 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Offered pay in certified work-visa filings, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Click a company for its jobs and salaries.
In fiscal year 2025, employers offered a median of $96,672 a year in 1,589 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Nebraska, up 3.8% from 2024 (US: $120,000). The largest job group was Software Developers. Fiscal year 2026 so far covers filings decided through Jun 30, 2026.
Median offered pay
$96,672
+3.8%vs 2024
Middle half: $74,924 to $120,768.
H-1B, fiscal year 2025
H-1B filings
1,589
+8.1%vs 2024
1,928 positions asked for.
Certified, full-time, fiscal year 2025
Top job group
$115,939
Software Developers, 442 filings.
Median offered pay of the largest job group
Green card jobs
$59,675
+43.4%vs 2024
542 PERM filings.
PERM median, fiscal year 2025
Median and middle half of the offers in Nebraska, next to the US median. Hover a year for the numbers.
| Job group | Filings | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 442 | $115,939 |
| Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians | 139 | $95,389 |
| Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists | 99 | $68,016 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 77 | $97,920 |
| Physicians, All Other | 60 | $199,950 |
| Data Scientists | 46 | $101,278 |
| Computer Programmers | 43 | $91,800 |
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | 33 | $75,000 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 29 | $94,453 |
| Registered Nurses | 29 | $74,880 |
| Employer | Filings | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska | 173 | 12 |
| University of Nebraska Medical Center | 81 | 2 |
| Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group Inc | 52 | 3 |
| Fiserv Solutions, LLC FISV | 43 | 2 |
| Infosys Limited INFY | 38 | 2 |
| Cognizant Technology Solutions US Corp. CTSH | 34 | 3 |
| Physicians Mutual Insurance Company | 33 | 1 |
| Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company | 32 | 5 |
| Mphasis Corporation MPHASIS.NS | 30 | 4 |
| Union Pacific Railroad Company | 26 | 1 |
| City | Filings | Median pay | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha | 909 | $101,358 | $80,496 to $126,589 |
| Lincoln | 252 | $84,802 | $67,622 to $102,000 |
| Elkhorn | 67 | $119,398 | $100,806 to $144,196 |
| La Vista | 40 | $118,696 | $104,489 to $128,523 |
| Columbus | 37 | $74,880 | $70,720 to $84,689 |
| Bennington | 23 | $114,116 | $98,960 to $130,534 |
| Schuyler | 23 | $62,556 | $58,242 to $66,519 |
| Grand Island | 21 | $85,280 | $66,269 to $250,000 |
| Bellevue | 17 | $94,032 | $75,000 to $150,000 |
| Kearney | 16 | $65,843 | $63,965 to $98,875 |
Yearly pay that employers offered in certified work-visa filings (H-1B, E-3 and PERM green card), from official public data. Pay is the lower end of the offered pay range, for full-time positions only. These are offered pay figures for positions in work-visa filings, not the pay of all employees. A filing is an offer for a position, not a hire, and one person can appear in several filings. Fiscal years run from October to September. Groups with fewer than 3 filings show counts only. Employers are ranked by filings in the cities of Nebraska added up.
Declared disasters and flood insurance claims: what happened, from official public data.
Nebraska has had 88 declared disasters and emergencies since 1960, 62 of them since 2000, most often Severe Storm. Flood insurance has paid $98.4 million on 6,069 claims since 1978; the biggest year was 2019 ($52.6 million).
Declared disasters
62
46 major disasters. Most often Severe Storm (39 since 1960).
Since 2000, all types; 88 since 1960
Flood claims paid
$56.7M
1,434 claims. Biggest year 2019 ($52.6M).
2016 to 2025, flood insurance
Policies in force
7,501
Average premium $920 a year.
2025, flood insurance policies
Most-declared county
21
Cass County, latest May 21, 2025.
Declarations since 2000
Declarations for Nebraska, 1960 to today
Claims paid in Nebraska by the year of the flood, US dollars
Declarations since 1960
Declarations naming the county since 2000; statewide ones not counted
All years since 1978; policies are a yearly average. Top 15 of 66.
| # | County | Claims | Paid | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarpy County | 848 | $21.5M | 825 |
| 2 | Douglas County | 1,045 | $14.6M | 1,556 |
| 3 | Dodge County | 809 | $11.8M | 1,206 |
| 4 | Cass County | 410 | $8.62M | 543 |
| 5 | Buffalo County | 64 | $7.18M | 202 |
| 6 | Saunders County | 259 | $4.31M | 493 |
| 7 | Madison County | 70 | $3.41M | 143 |
| 8 | Washington County | 159 | $3.18M | 90 |
| 9 | Lancaster County | 313 | $2.99M | 1,600 |
| 10 | Richardson County | 85 | $2.15M | 15 |
| 11 | Colfax County | 171 | $1.85M | 313 |
| 12 | Gage County | 184 | $1.74M | 97 |
| 13 | Burt County | 63 | $1.67M | 34 |
| 14 | Platte County | 87 | $1.46M | 197 |
| 15 | Saline County | 194 | $1.08M | 227 |
A declaration opens federal help after a disaster; it can name counties or the whole state. Flood insurance numbers count insured losses only (most homes have no flood insurance) and are not adjusted for inflation; the current year is data so far. For the flood-zone risk of a place, open the area on the real estate map.
Environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports of facilities in Nebraska, from official public data.
Official public data lists 2,507 facilities in Nebraska with records since 2010, 2,473 of them with environmental compliance records. In 2022 to 2026, the largest penalties were at Jbs Swift Beef Processing Facility in Grand Island ($1,853,440). 96 large facilities reported 25.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2023, down 7.7% from 2022.
Facilities with records
2,507
2,473 with environmental records.
Since 2010
Largest penalties
$1.85M
Jbs Swift Beef Processing Facility, Grand Island.
One facility, 2022 to 2026
Greenhouse gases
25.7M t
-7.7%vs 2022
96 reporting facilities.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
Largest emitter
7.19M t
Nppd Gerald Gentleman Station, Sutherland.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
| Facility | Penalties | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| Jbs Swift Beef Processing Facility Grand Island | $1,853,440 | 39 |
| Vishay Dale Electronics INC 02 Columbus | $387,000 | 9 |
| Dale Electronics INC (Lqg January 2000) Columbus | $387,000 | 4 |
| Clean Harbors Environmental Services INC - Kimball Facility Kimball | $329,312 | 35 |
| Pilot Flying J 686 Gretna | $121,469 | 0 |
| Tecumseh Poultry LLC (DBA Mba Poultry) Tecumseh | $96,506 | 0 |
| Archer Daniels Midland Company - Lincoln Lincoln | $75,000 | 6 |
| Concrete Equipment CO in C Blair | $70,441 | 4 |
| Columbus Metals Industries Columbus | $52,623 | 0 |
| A-1 Fiberglass Hastings | $50,000 | 3 |
| Facility | Metric tons CO2e |
|---|---|
| Nppd Gerald Gentleman Station Sutherland | 7,190,320 |
| Oppd Nebraska City Station Nebraska City | 5,925,043 |
| North Omaha Power Station Omaha | 1,588,043 |
| Vantage Corn Processors LLC Columbus | 1,115,109 |
| Whelan Energy Center Power Plant Hastings | 1,097,681 |
| Nppd Sheldon Station Hallam | 826,199 |
| Koch Fertilizer Beatrice LLC Beatrice | 795,150 |
| Ash Grove Cement Company Louisville | 612,375 |
| Lon D Wright Power Plant Fremont | 603,711 |
| Cargill - Blair Facility Blair | 510,871 |
Large facilities in Nebraska, metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Hover a year for the number.
Their facilities in Nebraska, 2022 to 2026. Click a company for its Risk & Compliance tab.
| Company | Facilities | Penalties | CO2e (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archer-Daniels-Midland Company ADM | 4 | $75K | 1.21M |
| Waste Management, Inc. WM | 1 | $12K | 100K |
| Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK-B | 3 | $0 | 129K |
| Darling Ingredients Inc. DAR | 1 | $0 | 27K |
| Green Plains Inc. GPRE | 3 | $0 | 353K |
Official public data on environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports, summarized by facility and year since 2010. A record does not mean a site is unsafe today; penalties and violations vary a lot by industry and size. Penalties are the amounts assessed (after settlements), not amounts paid. Recent years can still change.
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Nebraska, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Nebraska is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Nebraska, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Nebraska was 2.9% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 2.9% a year earlier. 1,064,352 people were employed out of a labor force of 1,095,992. Among its counties, Pierce County had the lowest rate (1.7%) and Dawson County the highest (16.4%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Nebraska was $1,274 in Q1 2026, up 3.7% from a year earlier, across 1,008,180 jobs at 78,898 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 693 new homes in Nebraska in August 2026 (549 single-family and 124 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 7,028, down 3.6% from the same months last year, and 10,519 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Douglas County (4,085), Sarpy County (2,074), Lancaster County (2,046) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 38,810 people moved to Nebraska and 40,662 moved away, a net loss of 1,852 (-1.1 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Iowa, Texas, Colorado, and most people who left went to Iowa, Texas, Colorado.
Regular gasoline in Nebraska averaged $4.23 per gallon on October 10, 2026, up $1.35 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.01. Among its counties, Pawnee County had the lowest regular price ($3.90) and Blaine County the highest ($5.30).
Health Care and Social Assistance (143,276 employees), Retail Trade (110,079 employees), Manufacturing (104,418 employees) were the largest sectors in Nebraska in 2023. In all, 56,503 business locations employed 923,066 people at an average pay of $57,518 a year.
$96,672 a year was the median pay offered in 1,589 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Nebraska in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), up 3.8% from 2024. The middle half of the offers ranged from $74,924 to $120,768. The US median was $120,000. These are offered pay figures in work-visa filings, not the pay of all workers.
Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (173), University of Nebraska Medical Center (81), Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group Inc (52), Fiserv Solutions, LLC (43), Infosys Limited (38) had the most certified H-1B filings for jobs in Nebraska in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025).
Software Developers (442 filings, median $115,939), Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians (139 filings, median $95,389), Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists (99 filings, median $68,016) were the largest job groups in certified H-1B filings in Nebraska in fiscal year 2025.
$119,398 was the median offered pay in Elkhorn, the highest among the Nebraska cities with the most H-1B filings in fiscal year 2025 (67 filings).
$59,675 a year was the median pay offered in 542 certified PERM green card filings for jobs in Nebraska in fiscal year 2025.
88 disasters and emergencies have been declared for Nebraska since 1960, 62 of them since 2000 (46 major disasters). The most common type is Severe Storm (39 declarations).
Cass County, with 21 declarations since 2000, followed by Nemaha County (21) and Saunders County (21). Statewide declarations are not counted for single counties.
$98.4 million on 6,069 flood insurance claims since 1978. The biggest year was 2019, with $52.6 million paid on 1,165 claims. Sarpy County received the most ($21.5 million).
$920 a year in 2025, across 7,501 flood insurance policies in Nebraska. Most homes have no flood insurance; the premium depends on the home's flood risk and coverage.