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Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwest; and Wyoming to the west. It is the only triply landlocked U.S. state. Indigenous peoples, including
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
, Missouria,
Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...
, Pawnee, Otoe, and various branches of the Lakota (
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...
) tribes, lived in the region for thousands of years before European exploration. The state is crossed by many historic trails, including that of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Nebraska's area is just over with a population of over 1.9 million. Its
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
is Lincoln, and its largest city is
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
, which is on the Missouri River. Nebraska was admitted into the United States in 1867, two years after the end of the American Civil War. The Nebraska Legislature is unlike any other American legislature in that it is unicameral, and its members are elected without any official reference to political party affiliation. Nebraska is composed of two major land regions: the Dissected Till Plains and the
Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
. The Dissected Till Plains region consists of gently rolling hills and contains the state's largest cities, Omaha and Lincoln. The Great Plains region, occupying most of western Nebraska, is characterized by treeless prairie. Nebraska has two major climatic zones. The eastern two-thirds of the state has a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification ''Dfa''); a unique warmer subtype considered "warm-temperate" exists near the southern plains, which is analogous to that in Kansas and
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, which have a predominantly humid subtropical climate. The Panhandle and adjacent areas bordering Colorado have a primarily semi-arid climate (Köppen ''BSk''). The state has wide variations between winter and summer temperatures, variations that decrease moving south within the state. Violent thunderstorms and tornadoes occur primarily during spring and summer and sometimes in autumn. Chinook wind tends to warm the state significantly in the winter and early spring.


Etymology

Nebraska's name is the result of
anglicization Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by Culture of England, English culture or Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English ...
of the archaic Otoe words ''Ñí Brásge'', pronounced (contemporary Otoe ''Ñíbrahge''), or the
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
''Ní Btháska'', pronounced , meaning "flat water", after the Platte River which flows through the state.


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 Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
, Missouria,
Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...
, Pawnee, Otoe, and various branches of the Lakota (
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...
), some of which migrated from eastern areas into this 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 Apaches, whose territory then included western Nebraska. By 1703, France had developed a regular trade with the native peoples along the Missouri River in Nebraska, and by 1719 had signed treaties with several of these peoples. After war broke out between the two countries, Spain dispatched an armed expedition to Nebraska under Lieutenant General Pedro de Villasur in 1720. The party was attacked and destroyed near present-day
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
by a large force of Pawnees and Otoes, both allied with the French. The massacre ended Spanish exploration of the area for the remainder of the 18th century. In 1762, during the Seven Years' War, France ceded the Louisiana territory to Spain. This left Britain and Spain competing for dominance along the Mississippi; by 1773, the British were trading with the native peoples of Nebraska. In response, Spain dispatched two trading expeditions up the Missouri in 1794 and 1795; the second, under James Mackay, established the first European settlement in Nebraska near the mouth of the Platte. Later that year, Mackay's party built a trading post, dubbed Fort Carlos IV (Fort Charles), near present-day Homer."Louisiana: European explorations and the Louisiana Purchase".Library of Congress.
Retrieved January 4, 2015.
Wood, W. Raymond. ''Nebraska History'' 76 (Spring 1995), pp. 2–9. Retrieved January 4, 2015. In 1819, the United States established Fort Atkinson as the first U.S. Army post west of the Missouri River, just east of present-day
Fort Calhoun Fort Calhoun is a city in Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 908 at the 2010 census. The city includes Fort Atkinson, the first fort built west of the Missouri River. History Fort Calhoun was platted in 1855. It w ...
. The army abandoned the fort in 1827 as migration moved further west. European-American settlement was scarce until 1848 and the
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
. On May 30, 1854, the US Congress created the Kansas and the Nebraska territories, divided by the
Parallel 40° North The 40th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 40 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. At this latitude the sun is vi ...
, under the Kansas–Nebraska Act. The Nebraska Territory included parts of the current states of Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. The territorial capital of Nebraska was
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
. In the 1860s, after the U.S. government forced many of the Native American tribes to cede their lands and settle on reservations, it opened large tracts of land to agricultural development by Europeans and Americans. Under the Homestead Act, thousands of settlers migrated into Nebraska to claim free land granted by the federal government. Because so few trees grew on the prairies, many of the first farming settlers built their homes of sod, as had Native Americans such as the Omaha. The first wave of settlement gave the territory a sufficient population to apply for statehood. Nebraska became the 37th state on March 1, 1867, and the capital was moved from Omaha to the center at Lancaster, later renamed Lincoln after the recently assassinated President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The battle of
Massacre Canyon The Massacre Canyon battle took place in Nebraska on August 5, 1873 near the Republican River. It was one of the last hostilities between the Pawnee and the Sioux (or Lakota) and the last battle/massacre between Great Plains Indians in North Ame ...
, on August 5, 1873, was the last major battle between the Pawnee and the
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...
. During the 1870s to the 1880s, Nebraska experienced a large growth in population. Several factors contributed to attracting new residents. The first was that the vast prairie land was perfect for cattle grazing. This helped settlers to learn the unfamiliar geography of the area. The second factor was the invention of several farming technologies. New agricultural innovations such as barbed wire, windmills, and the steel plow, combined with fair weather, enabled settlers to transform Nebraska into prime farming land. By the 1880s, Nebraska's population had soared to more than 450,000 people. The Arbor Day holiday was founded in
Nebraska City Nebraska City is a city in Nebraska, and the county seat of, Otoe County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,289. The Nebraska State Legislature has credited Nebraska City as being the oldest incorporated ...
by territorial governor
J. Sterling Morton Julius Sterling Morton (April 22, 1832 – April 27, 1902) was a Nebraska newspaper editor and politician who served as President Grover Cleveland's United States Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Agriculture. He was a prominent Bourbon Dem ...
. The
National Arbor Day Foundation The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 350 million trees in neighborhoods, communities ...
is still headquartered in
Nebraska City Nebraska City is a city in Nebraska, and the county seat of, Otoe County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,289. The Nebraska State Legislature has credited Nebraska City as being the oldest incorporated ...
, with some offices in Lincoln. In the late 19th century, many African Americans migrated from the South to Nebraska as part of the Great Migration, primarily to
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
which offered working-class jobs in
meat packing The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally no ...
, the railroads and other industries. Omaha has a long history of civil rights activism. Blacks encountered discrimination from other Americans in Omaha and especially from recent European immigrants, ethnic whites who were competing for the same jobs. In 1912, African Americans founded the Omaha chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to work for improved conditions in the city and state. Since the 1960s, Native American activism in the state has increased, both through open protest, activities to build alliances with state and local governments, and in the slower, more extensive work of building tribal institutions and infrastructure. Native Americans in federally recognized tribes have pressed for self-determination, sovereignty and recognition. They have created community schools to preserve their cultures, as well as tribal colleges and universities. Tribal politicians have also collaborated with state and county officials on regional issues.


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. The state has 93 counties and is split between two time zones, with the majority of the state observing
Central Time Central Time may refer to: * Central Time Zone, a time zone in North America * Central European Time, a time zone in Europe *Australian Central Time, a time zone in Australia (see Time in Australia) {{disambiguation ...
and the
Panhandle A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...
and surrounding counties observing Mountain Time. Three rivers cross the state from west to east. The Platte River, formed by the confluence of the
North Platte North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
and the
South Platte The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. Its ...
, runs through the state's central portion, the Niobrara River flows through the northern part, and the
Republican River The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, rising in the High Plains (United States), High Plains of eastern Colorado and flowing east U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline ...
runs across the southern part. The first Constitution of Nebraska in 1866 described Nebraska's boundaries as follows (Note that the description of the Northern border is no longer accurate, since the
Keya Paha River The Keya Paha River ( ) is a river flowing U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed March 30, 2011 through the U.S. states of South Dakota and Nebraska. The name is derived from ...
and the Niobrara River no longer form the boundary of the state of Nebraska. Instead, Nebraska's Northern border now extends east along the forty-third degree of north latitude until it meets the Missouri River directly.): Nebraska is composed of two major land regions: the Dissected Till Plains and the
Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
. The easternmost portion of the state was scoured by Ice Age glaciers; the Dissected Till Plains were left after the glaciers retreated. The Dissected Till Plains is a region of gently rolling hills;
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
and Lincoln are in this region. The Great Plains occupy most of western Nebraska, with the region consisting of several smaller, diverse land regions, including the Sandhills, the Pine Ridge, the Rainwater Basin, the
High Plains High Plains refers to one of two distinct land regions: * High Plains (United States), land region of the western Great Plains *High Plains (Australia) The High Plains of south-eastern Australia are a sub-region, or more strictly a string of adja ...
and the
Wildcat Hills The Wildcat Hills are an escarpment between the North Platte River and Pumpkin Creek in the western Panhandle, in the state of Nebraska in the Great Plains region of the United States. Located in Banner, Morrill, and Scotts Bluff counties, the ...
.
Panorama Point Panorama Point is the highest natural point in Nebraska, at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in southwestern Kimball County, near the point where Nebraska and Wyoming meet on Colorado's northern boundary. Despite its name and ele ...
, at , is Nebraska's highest point; though despite its name and elevation, it is a relatively low rise near the Colorado and Wyoming borders. A past tourism slogan for the state of Nebraska was "Where the West Begins" (it has since been changed to "Honestly, it's not for everyone"). Locations given for the beginning of the "West" in Nebraska include the Missouri River, the intersection of 13th and O Streets in Lincoln (where it is marked by a red brick star), the 100th meridian, and Chimney Rock.


Federal land management

Areas under the management of the National Park Service include: *
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is a U.S. National Monument near Harrison, Nebraska. The main features of the monument are a valley of the Niobrara River and the fossils found on Carnegie Hill and University Hill. The area largely consists of ...
near Harrison * California National Historic Trail * Chimney Rock National Historic Site near Bayard *
Homestead National Monument of America Homestead National Historical Park, a unit of the National Park System known as the Homestead National Monument of America prior to 2021, commemorates passage of the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed any qualified person to claim up to of fed ...
in
Beatrice Beatrice may refer to: * Beatrice (given name) Places In the United States * Beatrice, Alabama, a town * Beatrice, Humboldt County, California, a locality * Beatrice, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Beatrice, Indiana, an unincorporated ...
* Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail * Missouri National Recreational River near
Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...
*
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail The Mormon Trail is the long route from Illinois to Utah that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled for 3 months. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon ...
*
Niobrara National Scenic River The Niobrara National Scenic River is in north-central Nebraska, United States, approximately 300 miles (480 km) northwest of Omaha. In 1991, Congress set aside 76 miles (120 km) for preservation under the management of the National Pa ...
near
Valentine A valentine is a card or gift given on Valentine's Day, or one's sweetheart. Valentine or Valentines may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Valentine (name), a given name and a surname, including a list of people and fictional char ...
*
Oregon National Historic Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...
*
Pony Express National Historic Trail The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...
* Scotts Bluff National Monument at Gering Areas under the management of the
National Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
include: *
Nebraska National Forest The Nebraska National Forest is a United States National Forest located within the U.S. state of Nebraska. The total area of the national forest is 141,864 acres, or 222 sq miles (574 km2). The forest is managed by the U.S. Forest Service's ...
* Oglala National Grassland *
Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest The Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest is a United States National Forest in the north-central Sandhills region of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The area of the national forest is . The forest is managed as part of the U.S. Forest Service's Nebras ...


Climate

Two major climatic zones are represented in Nebraska. The eastern two-thirds of the state has a humid continental climate ( Köppen ''Dfa''), although the southwest of this region may be classed as a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(''Cfa'') using the boundary. The Panhandle and adjacent areas bordering Colorado have a semi-arid climate (Köppen ''BSk''). The entire state experiences wide seasonal variations in both temperature and precipitation. Average temperatures are fairly uniform across Nebraska, with hot summers and generally cold winters. However, chinook winds from the Rocky Mountains provide a temporary moderating effect on temperatures in the state's western portion during the winter. Thus, average January maximum temperatures are highest at around in southwestern Dundy County, and lowest at about around South Sioux City in the northeast. Average annual precipitation decreases east to west from about in the southeast corner of the state to about in the Panhandle. Humidity also decreases significantly from east to west. Snowfall across the state is fairly even, with most of Nebraska receiving between of snow each year. Nebraska's highest-recorded temperature was in
Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...
on July 24, 1936. The state's lowest-recorded temperature was in Camp Clarke on February 12, 1899. Nebraska is located in Tornado Alley. Thunderstorms are common during both the spring and the summer. Violent thunderstorms and tornadoes happen primarily during those two seasons, although they also can occur occasionally during the autumn.


Demographics


Population

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Nebraska was 1,934,408 on July 1, 2019, a 5.92% increase since the
2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
. The
center of population In demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to different geogr ...
of Nebraska is in Polk County, in the city of Shelby. The table below shows the racial composition of Nebraska's population as of 2016. According to the 2016
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
, 10.2% of Nebraska's population were of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race):
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
(7.8%), Puerto Rican (0.2%),
Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...
(0.2%), and other Hispanic or Latino origin (2.0%). The five largest ancestry groups were:
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
(36.1%), Irish (13.1%), English (7.8%), Czech (4.7%), and
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
(4.3%). Nebraska has the largest Czech American and non-Mormon Danish American population (as a percentage of the total population) in the nation. German Americans are the largest ancestry group in most of the state, particularly in the eastern counties. Thurston County (made up entirely of the
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
and
Winnebago Winnebago can refer to: * The exonym of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native North Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin ** Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a federally recognized tribe group in the state ** The Winnebago language of the ...
reservations) has an American Indian majority, and Butler County is one of only two counties in the nation with a Czech-American plurality. In recent years, Nebraska has become home to many refugee communities. In 2016, it welcomed more refugees per capita than any other state. Nebraska, and in particular Lincoln, is the largest home of Yazidis refugees and
Yazidi Americans Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The maj ...
in the United States. Notably, Nebraska was the last of all 50 states to maintain a ban on the issuance of driver's licenses to adults who had entered the United States illegally as children (also known as Dreamers). The state legislature lifted the ban in December 2016.


Birth data

As of 2011, 31.0% of Nebraska's population younger than ageone were minorities. ''Note: Births in table don't add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.'' * Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one ''Hispanic'' group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Nebraska are predominantly Christian, according to a 2014 survey by the Pew Research Center. At the 2020 Public Religion Research Institute survey, 73% of the population identified as Christian. At the 2014 Pew Research Center's survey, 20% of the population were religiously unaffiliated; in 2020, the Public Religion Research Institute determined 22% of the population became religiously unaffiliated. The largest single denominations by number of adherents in 2010 were the Roman Catholic Church (372,838), the
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...
(112,585), the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
(110,110) and the United Methodist Church (109,283).


Settlement

Eighty-nine percent of the cities in Nebraska have fewer than 3,000 people. Nebraska shares this characteristic with five other Midwestern states: Kansas,
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, North Dakota and South Dakota, and Iowa. Hundreds of towns have a population of fewer than 1,000. Regional population declines have forced many rural schools to consolidate. Fifty-three of Nebraska's 93 counties reported declining populations between 1990 and 2000, ranging from a 0.06% loss ( Frontier County) to a 17.04% loss (
Hitchcock County Hitchcock County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 2,616. Its county seat is Trenton. In the Nebraska license plate system, Hitchcock County is represented by the prefix 67 (it h ...
). More urbanized areas of the state have experienced substantial growth. In 2000, the city of
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
had a population of 390,007; in 2005, the city's estimated population was 414,521 (427,872 including the recently annexed city of Elkhorn), a 6.3% increase over five years. The 2010 census showed that Omaha has a population of 408,958. The city of Lincoln had a 2000 population of 225,581 and a 2010 population of 258,379, a 14.5% increase. As of the 2010 census, there were 530 cities and villages in the state of Nebraska. There are five classifications of cities and villages in Nebraska, which are based upon population. All population figures are 2017 Census Bureau estimates unless flagged by a reference number. Metropolitan Class City (300,000 or more) *
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
466,893 Primary Class City (100,000–299,999) * Lincoln 284,736 First Class City (5,000–99,999) * Bellevue 53,424 * Grand Island 51,390 * Kearney 33,835 * Fremont 26,457 * Hastings 24,989 * Norfolk 24,434 *
North Platte North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
23,888 *
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
23,128 *
Papillion Papillion is a city in Sarpy County in the state of Nebraska, United States. Designated as the county seat, it developed as an 1870s railroad town and suburb of Omaha. The city is part of the larger five-county metro area of Omaha. Papillion's ...
19,539 *
La Vista La Vista may refer to: * La Vista, Nebraska, a city in Nebraska * La Vista (Spotsylvania County, Virginia), an historic house in Spotsylvania County, Virginia * La Vista Correctional Facility, prison in Pueblo County, Colorado * La Vista High Sc ...
17,116 *
Scottsbluff Scottsbluff is a city in Scotts Bluff County, in the western part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The population was 14,436 at the 2020 census. Scottsbluff is the largest city in the Nebraska Panhandl ...
14,874 * South Sioux City 12,911 *
Beatrice Beatrice may refer to: * Beatrice (given name) Places In the United States * Beatrice, Alabama, a town * Beatrice, Humboldt County, California, a locality * Beatrice, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Beatrice, Indiana, an unincorporated ...
12,295 * Lexington 10,024 * Gering 8,319 * Alliance 8,164 *
Blair Blair is an English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin. The surname is derived from any of the numerous places in Scotland called ''Blair'', derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''blàr'', meaning "plain", "meadow" or "field", frequently a “ba ...
8,091 * York 7,862 * McCook 7,540 *
Ralston Ralston may refer to: Place names United States *Ralston, California *Ralston, Iowa *Ralston, Nebraska *Ralston, Oklahoma *Ralston, Wyoming *Mount Ralston in the Sierra Nevada of California *Ralston Creek (Colorado) *Ralston Hall, Belmont, Califor ...
7,333 *
Nebraska City Nebraska City is a city in Nebraska, and the county seat of, Otoe County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,289. The Nebraska State Legislature has credited Nebraska City as being the oldest incorporated ...
7,313 * Seward 7,181 * Crete 7,160 *
Sidney Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * ...
6,620 *
Plattsmouth Plattsmouth is a city and county seat of Cass County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,502 at the 2010 census. History The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed the mouth of the Platte River, just north of what is now Main Street Pla ...
6,451 * Schuyler 6,212 * Chadron 5,648 * Wayne 5,439 *
Holdrege Holdrege is a city in Phelps County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,495 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Phelps County. The Nebraska Prairie Museum is located in Holdrege. History Holdrege was established in 1883 whe ...
5,494 * Gretna 5,062 Second Class Cities (800–4,999) and Villages (100–800) make up the rest of the communities in Nebraska. There are 116 second-class cities and 382 villages in the state.
Metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
s 2017 estimate data * Omaha-Council Bluffs 763,326 (Nebraska portion); 933,316 (total for Nebraska and Iowa) * Lincoln 331,519 * Sioux City, Iowa 26,836 (Nebraska portion); 168,618 (total for Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota) * Grand Island 85,045 Micropolitan areas 2012 estimate data Other areas * Grand Island, Hastings and Kearney comprise the "
Tri-Cities Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...
" area, with a combined population of 168,748 * The northeast corner of Nebraska is part of the Siouxland region.


Taxation

Nebraska has a progressive income tax. The portion of income from $0 to $2,400 is taxed at 2.56%; from $2,400 to $17,500, at 3.57%; from $17,500 to $27,000, at 5.12%; and income over $27,000, at 6.84%. The standard deduction for a single taxpayer is $5,700; the personal exemption is $118. Nebraska has a state sales and use tax of 5.5%. In addition to the state tax, some Nebraska cities assess a city sales and use tax, in 0.5% increments, up to a maximum of 1.5%.
Dakota County Dakota County may refer to: *Dakota County, Minnesota in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of east-central Minnesota *Dakota County, Nebraska Dakota County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of th2020 United States Census the populati ...
levies an additional 0.5% county sales tax. Food and ingredients that are generally for home preparation and consumption are not taxable. All
real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixe ...
within the state of Nebraska is taxable unless specifically exempted by statute. Since 1992, only depreciable
personal property property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—any property that can be moved fr ...
is subject to tax and all other personal property is exempt from tax.
Inheritance tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...
is collected at the county level.


Economy

* Total employment (2016): 884,450 * Total employer establishments: 54,265 The
Bureau of Economic Analysis The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the United States Department of Commerce is a U.S. government agency that provides official economy of the United States, macroeconomic and industry statistics, most notably reports about the gross domestic ...
estimates of Nebraska's gross state product in 2010 was $89.8 billion. Per capita personal income in 2004 was $31,339, 25th in the nation. Nebraska has a large agriculture sector, and is a major producer of beef, pork, wheat,
corn (maize) Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...
,
soybeans The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...
, and
sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...
. Other important economic sectors include freight transport (by rail and truck), manufacturing, telecommunications, information technology, and insurance. In October of 2021, Nebraska recorded an unemployment rate of 1.9%, the lowest ever recorded for any state.


Industry

Kool-Aid was created in 1927 by Edwin Perkins in the city of Hastings, which celebrates the event the second weekend of every August with Kool-Aid Days, and Kool-Aid is the official soft drink of Nebraska. ''
CliffsNotes CliffsNotes are a series of student study guides. The guides present and create literary and other works in pamphlet form or online. Detractors of the study guides claim they let students bypass reading the assigned literature. The company cl ...
'' were developed by
Clifton Hillegass Clifton K. Hillegass (18 April 1918 in Rising City, Nebraska – 5 May 2001 in Lincoln, Nebraska) was the creator and publisher of ''CliffsNotes''. ''CliffsNotes'' are study guides that assist college and high school students in their literature ...
of Rising City. He adapted his pamphlets from the Canadian publications, ''
Coles Notes Coles Notes are student guides to literature, published in Canada. The Coles bookstore first published Coles Notes in 1948. The first title published was on the French novella ''Colomba'' by Prosper Mérimée.Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
is home to Berkshire Hathaway, whose chief executive officer (CEO), Warren Buffett, was ranked in March 2009 by '' Forbes'' magazine as the second-richest person in the world. The city is also home to Mutual of Omaha, InfoUSA, TD Ameritrade,
West Corporation Intrado, formerly West Corporation, is an American telecommunications company. It became a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management on October 11, 2017. Business Operations Intrado reorganized in five main segments: Cloud Collaboration, Life and ...
,
Valmont Industries Valmont Industries, Inc. () is a large, publicly held American manufacturer of Valley center pivot and linear irrigation equipment, windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails o ...
, Woodmen of the World, Kiewit Corporation, Union Pacific Railroad, and
Gallup Gallup may refer to: *Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll *Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States **Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New Me ...
. Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.,
Nelnet Nelnet, Inc., is a United States-based conglomerate that deals in the administration and repayment of student loans and education financial services. The company is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. The company provides a range of products t ...
,
Sandhills Publishing Company Sandhills Global is a privately held American information processing company that produces a diverse range of products and services from well-established trade publications and websites to hosted technology services. The company primarily serves ...
, Duncan Aviation, and Hudl are based in Lincoln. The Buckle is based in Kearney.
Sidney Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * ...
is the national headquarters for Cabela's, a specialty retailer of outdoor goods now owned by Bass Pro Shops. Grand Island is the headquarters of Hornady, a manufacturer of
ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
. The world's largest
train yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
, Union Pacific's Bailey Yard, is in
North Platte North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
. The
Vise-Grip Locking pliers (also called Vise-Grips, a vice grip, Mole wrench or mole grips) are pliers that can be locked into position, using an "over-center" cam action. Locking pliers are available with many different jaw styles, such as needle-nose pli ...
was invented by William Petersen in 1924, and was manufactured in De Witt until the plant was closed and moved to China in late 2008. Lincoln's Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing is the only Kawasaki plant in the world to produce the Jet Ski, all-terrain vehicle (ATV), and
MULE The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...
product lines. The facility employs more than 1,200 people. The Spade Ranch, in the Sandhills, is one of Nebraska's oldest and largest beef cattle operations.


Energy

Nebraska has been the nation's second-largest producer of ethanol
biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
s. It has few fossil-fuel resources except for crude oil from the Niobrara Formation which underlays a portion of the state's western region. It hosts one uranium leach mining operation near its northwest border with Wyoming. It has an abundance of renewable generation resources, including untapped biomass generation potential from its productive agriculture industry. It has been a top-ten state for per-capita energy consumption due in large part to its energy-intensive agriculture, meat packing, and food processing industries. Nebraska is the only state in the US where all electric utilities are publicly owned. Half of its electricity is generated from coal and the fastest-growing source in recent years has been wind. Nebraska has no renewable portfolio standard while supporting
net metering Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly importa ...
.


Transportation


Railroads

The Union Pacific Railroad, headquartered in Omaha, was incorporated on July 1, 1862, in the wake of the
Pacific Railway Act of 1862 The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 were a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of a "transcontinental railroad" (the Pacific Railroad) in the United States through authorizing the issuance of government bonds and the grants of ...
. Bailey Yard, in North Platte, is the largest railroad classification yard in the world. The route of the original transcontinental railroad runs through the state. Other major railroads with operations in the state are: Amtrak;
BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
;
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...
; and Iowa Interstate Railroad.


Roads and highways


Public transit

* Lincoln StarTran * Omaha Metro Transit * Scottsbluff Tri-City Roadrunner *
Sioux City Transit Sioux City Transit, is the primary provider of mass transportation in Woodbury County, Iowa. Ten routes operate from Monday through Saturday. Via Route 9, a connection can also be made with the suburb of South Sioux City, Nebraska across the Misso ...


Intercity bus service

* Burlington Trailways * Express Arrow * Jefferson Lines *
Panhandle Trails A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...


Law and government

The Government of Nebraska operates under the framework of the
Nebraska Constitution The Nebraska Constitution is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Nebraska. All acts of the Nebraska Legislature, the governor, and each governmental agency are subordinate to it. The constitution has been amended 228 times since it ...
, adopted in 1875, and is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. In a 2020 study, Nebraska was ranked as the 22nd on the "Cost of Voting Index" which is a measure of "the ease of voting across the United States".


Executive branch

The head of the executive branch is Governor Pete Ricketts ( Republican). The Governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the
Constitution of Nebraska The Nebraska Constitution is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Nebraska. All acts of the Nebraska Legislature, the governor, and each governmental agency are subordinate to it. The constitution has been amended 228 times since it ...
. Other elected officials in the executive branch are
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Mike Foley,
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Doug Peterson, Secretary of State
Bob Evnen Robert Barnett Evnen (born 1952) is an American attorney and Republican politician in the state of Nebraska. He is the 27th Secretary of State of Nebraska, serving since 2019. Legal career Evnen graduated from Michigan State University with a ba ...
,
State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...
John Murante John Murante (born February 6, 1982) is an American politician serving as the 44th and current Nebraska State Treasurer since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was elected to the unicameral Nebraska Legislature from 2013 unti ...
, and
State Auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, state examiners, or inspectors general) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, financial ...
Charlie Janssen. All elected officials in the executive branch serve four-year terms. Nebraska’s executive branch has X agencies, including 18 code agencies administered by the Governor.


Legislative branch

Nebraska is the only state in the United States with a 'single-house' unicameral legislature. Although this house is officially known simply as the " Legislature", and more commonly called the "Unicameral", its members call themselves "senators". Nebraska's Legislature is also the only
state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
in the United States that is officially
nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...
. The senators are elected with no party affiliation next to their names on the ballot, and members of any party can be elected to the positions of speaker and committee chairs. The Nebraska Legislature can also override the governor's veto with a three-fifths majority, in contrast to the two-thirds majority required in some other states. When Nebraska became a state in 1867, its legislature consisted of two houses: a House of Representatives and a Senate. For years, U.S. Senator George Norris (Senator 1913–1943) and other Nebraskans encouraged the idea of a unicameral legislature and demanded the issue be decided in a referendum. Norris argued: Unicameral supporters also argued that a
bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
legislature had a significant undemocratic feature in the committees that reconciled House and Senate legislation. Votes in these committees were secretive, and would sometimes add provisions to bills that neither house had approved. Nebraska's unicameral legislature today has rules that bills can contain only one subject, and must be given at least five days of consideration. In 1934, due in part to the budgetary pressure of the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Nebraska citizens ran a state initiative to vote on a constitutional amendment creating a unicameral legislature, which was approved, which, in effect, abolished the House of Representatives (the lower house). The Legislature meets in the third Nebraska State Capitol building, built between 1922 and 1932. It was designed by
Bertram G. Goodhue Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 – April 23, 1924) was an American architect celebrated for his work in Gothic Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Spanish Colonial Revival design. He also designed notable typefaces, in ...
. Built from Indiana limestone, the capitol's base is a cross within a square. A 400-foot domed tower rises from this base. The Sower, a 19-foot bronze statue representing agriculture, crowns the building.


Judicial branch

The judicial system in Nebraska is unified, with the Nebraska Supreme Court having administrative authority over all the courts within the state. Nebraska uses the
Missouri Plan The Missouri Plan (originally the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, also known as the merit plan, or some variation) is a method for the selection of judges. It originated in Missouri in 1940 and has been adopted by many states of the United States. ...
for the selection of judges at all levels, including
county courts A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...
(as the lowest-level courts) and twelve district courts, which contain one or more counties. The
Nebraska State Court of Appeals The Nebraska State Court of Appeals is the intermediate level appellate court for the state of Nebraska. Judges *Chief Judge Frankie J. Moore *Judge David K. Arterburn *Judge Michael W. Pirtle *Judge Francie C. Riedmann *Judge Riko E. Bisho ...
hears appeals from the district courts,
juvenile court A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...
s, and workers' compensation courts, and is the final court of appeal.


Federal representation

Nebraska's
U.S. senators The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...
are Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse, both Republicans; Fischer, first elected in 2012, is the senior senator, while Sasse, first elected in 2014, is the junior senator. Nebraska has three representative seats in the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
. Until the next election, Nebraska's representatives are Mike Flood (R) of the
1st district The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Inn ...
, Don Bacon (R) of the 2nd district, and Adrian Smith (R) of the 3rd district. Nebraska is one of two states ( Maine is the other) that allow for a split in the state's allocation of electoral votes in
presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...
. Under a 1991 law, two of Nebraska's five votes are awarded to the winner of the statewide popular vote, while the other three go to the highest vote-getter in each of the state's three
congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...
.


Politics

For most of its history, Nebraska has been a solidly Republican state. Republicans have carried the state in all but one presidential election since
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...
: the 1964 landslide election of Lyndon B. Johnson. In the 2004 presidential election,
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
won the state's five electoral votes by a margin of 33 percentage points (making Nebraska's the fourth-strongest Republican vote among states) with 65.9% of the overall vote; only Thurston County, which is majority- Native American, voted for his
Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
challenger John Kerry. In
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, the state split its electoral votes for the first time: Republican
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
won the popular vote in Nebraska as a whole and two of its three congressional districts; the second district, which includes the city of Omaha, went for Democrat Barack Obama. Despite the current Republican domination of Nebraska politics, the state has a long tradition of electing centrist members of both parties to state and federal office; examples include
George W. Norris George William Norris (July 11, 1861September 2, 1944) was an American politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. He served five terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican, from 1903 until 1913 ...
(who served a few years in the Senate as an independent),
J. James Exon John James "Jim" Exon (August 9, 1921June 10, 2005) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 33rd Governor of Nebraska from 1971 to 1979, and as a U.S. Senator from Nebraska from 1979 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Par ...
, Bob Kerrey, and Chuck Hagel. Voters have tilted to the right in recent years, a trend evidenced when Hagel retired from the Senate in 2008 and was succeeded by conservative Republican Mike Johanns to the U.S. Senate, as well as with the 2006 re-election of
Ben Nelson Earl Benjamin Nelson (born May 17, 1941) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 37th governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 2001 to 2013. He is a member of the Demo ...
, who was considered the most conservative Democrat in the Senate until his retirement in 2013. Johanns retired in 2015 and was succeeded by Ben Sasse, while Nelson retired in 2013 and was succeeded by Deb Fischer, both conservative Republicans. Though its politics are generally conservative, the state also has a history of progressive reform. Nebraska was the first US state to outlaw sexual assault within a marriage, in 1975. In 1980 it became the first US state to divest from South Africa to protest the racist system of apartheid. Former President
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
was born in Nebraska but moved away shortly after birth. Illinois native William Jennings Bryan represented Nebraska in Congress, served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson, and unsuccessfully ran for president three times. Former Vice President
Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
was born in Lincoln but moved to Casper.


Education


Colleges and universities

University of Nebraska system * University of Nebraska–Lincoln *
University of Nebraska at Kearney The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) is a campus of the public University of Nebraska system and located in Kearney, Nebraska. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney. History In March 1903 the Nebraska Stat ...
* University of Nebraska at Omaha * University of Nebraska Medical Center *
Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (UNL–NCTA) is a public technical college in Curtis, Nebraska. It is part of the University of Nebraska system. History The Nebraska Legislature passed a bill to establish a Nebraska School of Agricult ...
Nebraska State College System *
Chadron State College Chadron State College is a public college in Chadron, Nebraska, US. It is one of three public colleges in the Nebraska State College System. It has open admission and an acceptance rate of 100%. According to College Factual, it has a six-year g ...
* Peru State College * Wayne State College Community Colleges *
Central Community College Central Community College is a two-year Nebraska public college with three campuses, in Columbus, Grand Island, and Hastings. In addition the college has learning centers in Holdrege, Kearney, and Lexington. Under the terms of a 1971 Nebraska ...
*
Little Priest Tribal College Little Priest Tribal College is a public tribal land-grant community college in Winnebago, Nebraska. It is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and primarily supported by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. It has an enrollme ...
* Metropolitan Community College * Mid-Plains Community College *
Nebraska Indian Community College Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC) is a Public college, public Tribal colleges and universities, tribal Land-grant university, land-grant community college with three locations in Nebraska: Macy, Nebraska, Macy on the Omaha Tribe reservatio ...
*
Northeast Community College Northeast Community College (NECC) is a public community college system in northeast Nebraska with four campuses: Norfolk, O'Neill, South Sioux City, and West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metony ...
*
Southeast Community College Southeast Community College (SCC) is a public community college system in the southeast portion of Nebraska. Locations The college offers three campuses, six learning centers and two additional locations in Lincoln that are within the 15-county ...
*
Western Nebraska Community College Western Nebraska Community College (WNCC) is a public community college in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. It also has campuses in Sidney, Nebraska, and Alliance, Nebraska. WNCC was previously known as Scottsbluff Junior College, Scotts Bluff County Coll ...
Private colleges/universities * Bellevue University * Clarkson College *
College of Saint Mary The College of Saint Mary is a private Catholic women's university in Omaha, Nebraska. Enrollment totaled 1,018 students in fall of 2014: 735 undergraduates, 243 graduate, and 40 non-degree seeking students. It offers more than 30 undergraduat ...
*
Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
* Creighton University *
Doane University Doane University is a private university in Crete, Nebraska. It has additional campuses in Lincoln and Omaha, as well as online programs. History Doane College was founded on July 11, 1872, by Thomas Doane, chief civil engineer for the Burlingt ...
* Grace University * Hastings College *
Midland University Midland University is a private Lutheran university in Fremont, Nebraska. It has an approximate enrollment of 1,600 students on campus. Known as Midland Lutheran College from 1962 to 2010, the college is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran ...
* Nebraska Christian College *
Nebraska Methodist College Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing and Allied Health is a private Methodist college in Omaha, Nebraska that focuses on degrees in healthcare. Academics Nebraska Methodist College offers associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in ...
* Nebraska Wesleyan University *
Summit Christian College Summit Christian College is a private Christian college in Gering, Nebraska. It was established in 1951 in Scottsbluff as Platte Valley Bible College. The college is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Learning (ABHE) and offers o ...
* Union College * York College


Culture


Arts

Museums * International Quilt Study Center & Museum, in Lincoln * Joslyn Art Museum, in Omaha * University of Nebraska State Museum, in Lincoln * Museum of Nebraska Art, in Kearney Performing arts *
Lied Center for Performing Arts The Lied Center for Performing Arts (frequently shortened to Lied Center) is a multi-venue performing arts facility in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It opened in 1990 on the southwest edge of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's City Campus ...
, in Lincoln * Orpheum Theatre, in Omaha *
Holland Performing Arts Center The Holland Performing Arts Center is a performing arts facility located on 13th and Douglas Streets in downtown Downtown Omaha, Nebraska in the United States; it opened in October 2005. Designed by Omaha architectural firm HDR, Inc. in collabora ...
, in Omaha * Omaha Community Playhouse, in Omaha *
Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center The Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center or The Rose, also known as the Astro Theater, originally opened as The Riviera. It is located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1926 in a combination of both Moorish and Classical styles, the building wa ...
, in Omaha *
Blue Barn Theatre The Bluebarn Theatre, located at 1106 S. 10th Street in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, is a nationally recognized theater. Begun in 1989, the theater was founded by a group of 1988 graduates from the theater program at Purchase College: Kevin La ...
, in Omaha *
Omaha Symphony The Omaha Symphony is a professional orchestra performing more than 200 concerts and presentations annually in Omaha, Nebraska and throughout the orchestra's home region. The orchestra was established in 1921. It is considered a major American orc ...


Sports


Professional sports


Junior-level sports


College sports

Nebraska is currently home to seven member schools of the NCAA, eight of the NAIA, seven of the NJCAA, one of the
NCCAA The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) is an association of Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada whose mission is "the promotion and enhancement of intercollegiate athletic c ...
, and one independent school. The College World Series has been held in
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
since 1950. It was held at Rosenblatt Stadium from 1950 through 2010, and has been domiciled at
Charles Schwab Field Omaha Charles Schwab Field Omaha (formerly TD Ameritrade Park Omaha) is a baseball park in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 2011, the stadium serves as a replacement for historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. Charles Schwab Field has a seating capacity of 24, ...
since 2011.


See also

*
Index of Nebraska-related articles The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. State of Nebraska. 0–9 * .ne.us – Internet second-level domain for the state of Nebraska * 37th state to join the United States of America A *Adjacent states: **Sta ...
*
Outline of Nebraska The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Nebraska: Nebraska – U.S. state located in the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. Nebraska was once considered part of the Great Amer ...
* ''''


Notes


References


Bibliography


Surveys

* Andreas, Alfred T.
''History of the State of Nebraska''
(1882) (a highly detailed history) * Archer, J. Clark, et al. ''Atlas of Nebraska. '' (U of Nebraska Press, 2017). Pp. xxii+ 214, color maps, illustrations, photographs, charts, graphs, bibliography
online review
* Creigh, Dorothy Weyers. ''Nebraska: A Bicentennial History'' (1977) * Faulkner, Virginia, ed. ''Roundup: A Nebraska Reader'' (1957) * ''Chokecherry Places, Essays from the High Plains'', Merrill Gilfillan, Johnson Press, Boulder, Colorado, trade paperback, . * Hickey, Donald R. ''Nebraska Moments: Glimpses of Nebraska's Past'' (1992). * Miewald, Robert D.
''Nebraska Government & Politics''
(1984) * Luebke Frederick C. ''Nebraska: An Illustrated History'' (1995) * Naugle, Ronald C., John J. Montag, and James C. Olson. ''History of Nebraska'' (4th ed. U of Nebraska Press, 2015). 568 pp
online review
* Wishart, David J. ed. ''Encyclopedia of the Great Plains'', University of Nebraska Press, 2004,
complete text online
; 900 pages of scholarly articles
''Nebraska: A Guide to the Cornhusker State'', WPA Guide, 1939; scanned online edition


Scholarly special studies

* Barnhart, John D. "Rainfall and the Populist Party in Nebraska". ''American Political Science Review'' 19 (1925): 527–40. in JSTOR * Beezley, William H. "Homesteading in Nebraska, 1862–1872", ''Nebraska History'' 53 (spring 1972): 59–75 * Bentley, Arthur F. "The Condition of the Western Farmer as Illustrated by the Economic History of a Nebraska Township". ''Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science'' 11 (1893): 285–370
Cherny, Robert W. ''Populism, Progressivism, and the Transformation of Nebraska Politics, 1885–1915'' (1981)
* Bogue Allen G. ''Money at Interest: The Farm Mortgage on the Middle Border'' (1955) * Brunner, Edmund de S. ''Immigrant Farmers and Their Children'' (1929) * Chudacoff, Howard P. ''Mobile Americans: Residential and Social Mobility in Omaha, 1880–1920'' (1972) ** Chudacoff, Howard P. "A New Look at Ethnic Neighborhoods: Residential Dispersion and the Concept of Visibility in a Medium-sized City". ''Journal of American History'' 60 (1973): 76–93. about Omaha; in JSTOR
Coletta, Paolo E. ''William Jennings Bryan''.
3 vols. (1964–69) * Dick, Everett. ''The Sod-House Frontier: 1854–1890'' (1937) * Farragher, John Mack. ''Women and Men on the Overland Trail'' (1979) * Fuller, Wayne E. ''The Old Country School: The Story of Rural Education in the Midwest'' (1982) * Grant, Michael Johnston. "Down and Out on the Family Farm" (2002) * Harper, Ivy. ''Walzing Matilda: Life and Times of Nebraska Senator Robert Kerrey'' (1992) * Holter, Don W. ''Flames on the Plains: A History of United Methodism in Nebraska'' (1983) * Jeffrey, Julie Roy. ''Frontier Women: The Trans-Mississippi West, 1840–1880'' (1979) * Klein, Maury. ''Union Pacific: The Birth of a Railroad, 1862–1893'' (1986) * * Larsen, Lawrence H. ''The Gate City: A History of Omaha'' (1982) * Lowitt, Richard. ''George W. Norris'' 3 vols. (1971) * Luebke, Frederick C. ''Immigrants and Politics: The Germans of Nebraska, 1880–1900'' (1969) * Luebke, Frederick C. "The German-American Alliance in Nebraska, 1910–1917". ''Nebraska History'' 49 (1969): 165–85 * Olson, James C. ''J. Sterling Morton'' (1942) * Overton, Richard C. ''Burlington West: A Colonization History of the Burlington Railroad'' (1941) * Parsons Stanley B. "Who Were the Nebraska Populists?" ''Nebraska History'' 44 (1963): 83–99 * Pierce, Neal. ''The Great Plains States'' (1973) * Pederson, James F., and Kenneth D. Wald. ''Shall the People Rule? A History of the Democratic Party in Nebraska Politics'' (1972) * Riley, Glenda. ''The Female Frontier. A Comparative View of Women on the Prairie and the Plains'' (1978) * Wenger, Robert W. "The Anti-Saloon League in Nebraska Politics, 1898–1910". ''Nebraska History'' 52 (1971): 267–92


External links


Nebraska state government

Nebraska Division of Travel and Tourism

Energy Profile for Nebraska

USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Nebraska

Nebraska State Facts from USDA

Nebraska Frequently Asked Questions




*
nebraskastudies.org
History of Nebraska from Nebraska Department of Education, Nebraska State Historical Society, and NET
Nebraska State Databases
Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Nebraska state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association. * {{Authority control States and territories established in 1867 States of the United States Midwestern United States Articles containing video clips U.S. states with multiple time zones 1867 establishments in the United States Contiguous United States