Metro area · Nebraska

Lincoln, NE metro area

Lincoln, NE is a metropolitan area of 2 counties in Nebraska, home to 352,081 residents. Lincoln, NE metro area has a quality-of-life score of 95 out of 100 (very high), ranking #43 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Nebraska it ranks #3 of 12. It ranks best on frequent mental distress (low), flu vaccinations (high) and injury deaths (low). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), public libraries (low) and property crime rate (high).

95Very high
Quality-of-life score
#43 of 925 metro and micro areas
Nebraska
#3 of 12 in NE
Population
352,081 (2025)
Land area
1,409 mi²
Density
249.9 /mi²
CBSA code
30700

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Lincoln, NE metro area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety61#359/924
  • Economy83#154/925
  • Housing42#534/925
  • Health97#25/925
  • Healthcare98#21/923
  • Environment81#179/917
  • Education94#53/925
  • Infrastructure98#17/925
  • Community94#58/925
  • Leisure & amenities60#371/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lincoln, NE metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Metro and micro areas like Lincoln, NE metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lincoln, NE metro area in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Lincoln, NE

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Lancaster CountyCentral county94334,049
  2. Seward CountyOutlying county9518,032

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. LincolnPrincipal city294,856

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Lincoln294,856
  2. Seward7,678
  3. Waverly4,440
  4. Hickman3,004
  5. Milford2,565
  6. Bennet1,218
  7. Utica1,015
  8. Firth604
  9. Walton579
  10. Malcolm480
  11. Beaver Crossing357
  12. Hallam346
  13. Staplehurst322
  14. Goehner309
  15. Bee281
  16. Yankee Hill250
  17. Pleasant Dale244
  18. Roca242
  19. Panama232
  20. Raymond187
  21. Garland180
  22. Sprague176
  23. Denton145
  24. Cheney144

Other metro and micro areas in Nebraska

Areas based in Nebraska, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

JSON · /api/v1/places/M30700