Map of Nebraska

History

Indigenous peoples lived in the region of present-day Nebraska for thousands of years before European colonization. The historic tribes in the state included the Omaha, Missouria, Ponca, Pawnee, Otoe, and various branches of the Lakota (Sioux), some of which migrated from eastern areas into the region. When European exploration, trade, and settlement began, both Spain and France sought to control the region. In the 1690s, Spain established trade connections with the Apache, whose territory then included western Nebraska. By 1703, France had developed a regular trade with native peoples along the Missouri River in Nebraska, and by 1719 had signed treaties with several of these peoples.

Geography

The state is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwest; and Wyoming to the west. It is the only triply landlocked state in the United States. The state has 93 counties and is split between two time zones, with the majority of the state observing Central Time and the Panhandle and surrounding counties observing Mountain Time.

Economy

In 2025, the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated Nebraska's gross state product was $198 billion. Nebraska's per capita personal income was $75,858 in 2025, ranked 19th in the nation. Nebraska has a large agriculture sector, and is a major producer of beef, pork, wheat, corn (maize), soybeans, and sorghum. Other important economic sectors include freight transport (by rail and truck), manufacturing, telecommunications, information technology, and insurance.

Small businesses made up 99.1% of Nebraska's businesses in 2025, and employed 47.5% of the state's work force.

In October 2021, Nebraska recorded an unemployment rate of 1.9%, the lowest ever recorded for any state. As of May 2025, the unemployment rate was 3%.

Demographics

As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 824,012 estimated households in Nebraska with an average of 2.38 persons per household. The state has a median household income of $76,376. Approximately 10.9% of the state's population lives at or below the poverty line. Nebraska has an estimated 65.9% employment rate, with 35.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 92.6% holding a high school diploma. There were 880,521 housing units at an average density of 11.46 per square mile (4.4/km2).

The top five reported languages (people were allowed to report up to two languages, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (86.0%), Spanish (9.3%), Indo-European (2.1%), Asian and Pacific Islander (1.6%), and Other (1.0%).