Omaha, NE-IA

Metro Area Profile

982,064 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Omaha, NE-IA metropolitan area.

69out of 100
Area Score
Top 12% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
OpportunityTop 2% of 835 metro and micro areas measured86
Schools506th of 695 metro and micro areas measured31
GrowthTop 12% of 834 metro and micro areas measured75
Housing affordabilityTop 45% of 835 metro and micro areas measured75
Climate642nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured59
Physical resilienceTop 40% of 835 metro and micro areas measured62
AccessTop 13% of 835 metro and micro areas measured97
Economic stabilityTop 8% of 835 metro and micro areas measured88
The quick read

Omaha ranks in the top 2% of metro and micro areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.1% and median household income of $84,829.

In the public schools here, 54% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.6 students for every teacher.

7,022 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, essentially level with the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
982,064
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$84,829
Top 12% nationally
Density
226/sq mi
4,345.7 sq mi of land
Median age
36.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Metropolitan area
Nebraska and Iowa
Nearest major airport
OMA
6 mi · Eppley Airfield
Median home value
$268,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.1%, lower than in 89% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment grew 0.7% over the past year, to 535,015 employed residents.

39% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 87% of measured US metro and micro areas.

Median household income of $84,829 is higher than in 88% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$9792024 ACS 5-Year$84,829Top 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5402024 ACS 5-Year$45,491Top 13%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year9.3%Top 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.3 minTop 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year39.3%Top 13%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year74.3%30th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026535,015Top 6%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+3.4%Top 13%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.7%Top 22%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026551,86594th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year83.8%Top 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage2025 OEWS$64,900Top 29%of 3922025 OEWS
Median annual wage2025 OEWS$49,660Top 30%of 3922025 OEWS
Metro employment2025 OEWS498,10087th percentileof 3922025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%68th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Bottom 46%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.1%Top 11%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year14.5%87th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.52.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.1% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Largest occupations — Omaha, NE-IA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers15,580$29,450
Registered Nurses13,200$84,600
Retail Salespersons12,080$33,260
General and Operations Managers11,430$90,620
Stockers and Order Fillers10,490$36,810
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers10,210$58,010

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

54% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.6 students for every full-time teacher across 330 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
369
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.6
across 330 of them
Math proficiency
53.9%
Bottom 27% in Nebraska
Reading proficiency
54.7%
Bottom 33% in Nebraska
The 12 largest of 369 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Central High SchoolOMAHA PUBLIC SCHOOLS2,58720.741%45%
Millard North High SchoolMILLARD PUBLIC SCHOOLS2,57217.471%75%
Millard South High SchoolMILLARD PUBLIC SCHOOLS2,52616.655%60%
South High SchoolOMAHA PUBLIC SCHOOLS2,41217.623%27%
Millard West High SchoolMILLARD PUBLIC SCHOOLS2,34417.471%78%
Westside High SchoolWESTSIDE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS2,14516.160%59%
Papillion La Vista South HSPAPILLION LA VISTA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS2,03817.067%65%
Papillion La Vista Senior HighPAPILLION LA VISTA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS1,86716.162%59%
North High SchoolOMAHA PUBLIC SCHOOLS1,75423.734%34%
Burke High SchoolOMAHA PUBLIC SCHOOLS1,69319.936%41%
Westview High SchoolOMAHA PUBLIC SCHOOLS1,57320.7——
Bellevue West SR High SchoolBELLEVUE PUBLIC SCHOOLS1,52916.460%54%

27.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against each state’s own standard, so it is ranked within state — here, within Nebraska, the first state in this area’s name. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 8% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for this area is up 40% over five years, and up 4.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,395 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.64% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,368, some 15% above the $1,192 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,368 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $54,700 a year, about 64% of the median household income here of $84,829.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,192 a month.

A median home at $268,600 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $109,745, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
92.5

Prices here run about 8% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Price level for all consumption in this metropolitan area against a national average of 100. Housing dominates the spread between places; goods vary far less.

Rent as a share of income
29.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,368
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,192
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$268,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Omaha’s median household income of $84,829, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living index202392.5Top 47%of 3862023
Home price change (1 year)2026 Q2+4.2%64th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)2026 Q2+40.1%37th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)2026 Q2+95.1%49th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.02024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year66.2%28th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2472024 ACS 5-Year412,11094th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,148Bottom 22%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,813Bottom 23%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,368Bottom 23%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$102024 ACS 5-Year$1,192Bottom 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,1002024 ACS 5-Year$268,60068th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$372024 ACS 5-Year$4,39593rd percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$1,0622024 ACS 5-Year$109,745Top 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year1.64%92nd percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year29.0%Bottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±4622024 ACS 5-Year3,36375th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%21st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.6%13th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1,3802024 ACS 5-Year22,29888th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

75/ 100
Top 12% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 3% since 2020, reaching 1,001,010 in 2024.

At 7.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
7,022
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.2
Top 13% nationally
Year over year
−1%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
49.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

202020212022202320241001k969k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 15°F.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station OMAHA #1, 4.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

MetricValueSource period
Average January low1991-2020 Normals15°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals52°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

62 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hail, with inland flooding alone responsible for 37% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HailElevated
TornadoElevated
Strong windModerate
Ice stormModerate
Heat waveElevated
LightningModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, cold wave, wildfire, inland flooding, landslide, earthquake, hurricane, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Eppley Airfield at 6 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year92.1%Top 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle6 miTop 5%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.5%Top 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Eppley AirfieldOMA6 mi9,502 ft
LincolnLNK50 mi8,649 ft
Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day FldSUX79 mi9,002 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
69
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.