Where People Are Moving To In Nebraska In 2026

Nebraska's population reached an estimated 2,018,006 in January 2026, with growth concentrated almost entirely in the Omaha and Lincoln metro areas and their surrounding counties. Between 2023 and 2024, 48 of Nebraska's 93 counties gained population, up from just 24 counties that ended the previous decade with positive growth. The dominant in-state pattern is movement out of Omaha's city limits into surrounding suburban and exurban communities, paired with steady growth in Lincoln and select regional centers in the state's interior. Housing cost differentials, school district performance, and proximity to Offutt Air Force Base drive most of the documented domestic migration. Here are five places where that movement is concentrating.

Sarpy County

Sarpy County recorded a population of 190,604 in the 2020 Census and reached an estimated 204,828 by July 2024, a 7.5% increase, according to U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates. The county posted the highest net domestic migration gain in Nebraska between 2023 and 2024 at 2,348 people, according to the University of Nebraska at Omaha Center for Public Affairs Research analysis of Census components-of-change data. The primary in-state origin is Douglas County, where the city of Omaha saw a net population decline during the same period as residents relocated to Sarpy's suburban cities. The growth driver is a combination of factors: proximity to Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, which employs roughly 10,000 military and civilian personnel; home prices averaging $337,330 in the fourth quarter of 2024, below Douglas County medians; and consistently high-performing school districts, including Papillion-La Vista Community Schools and Gretna Public Schools. Sarpy County issued 1,208 single-family home building permits in 2024 alone, reflecting the pace of new residential construction absorbing inbound movers.

Lancaster County (Lincoln)

Lancaster County's population grew from an estimated 322,617 in 2020, reaching 334,049 as part of the Lincoln metro area by 2025. Lincoln itself surpassed 300,000 residents in May 2025, making it one of the fastest-growing mid-size cities in the Midwest by numeric gain. The city received approximately 3,080 international migrants between 2023 and 2024, up from 1,088 the year before. On the domestic side, Lancaster County drew residents from rural Nebraska counties losing population, particularly smaller agricultural counties where service sector employment has contracted. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which enrolls approximately 25,000 students, and a growing technology and healthcare sector anchored by Bryan Health and Nebraska Methodist Health System contribute to sustained demand for housing and commercial space. The median household income in Lincoln is $71,867, and the city's age profile, with a median of 33.4 years, reflects the young workforce driving residential demand.

Buffalo County (Kearney)

Buffalo County posted net domestic migration gains of 159 people between 2023 and 2024, among the highest of any non-metro county in the state. The county's population reached approximately 51,172 as of the most recent estimates, anchored by the city of Kearney at approximately 34,362 residents. Kearney functions as a regional service center for a broad stretch of south-central Nebraska, with healthcare employment at CHI Health Good Samaritan and retail and distribution activity along the Interstate 80 corridor providing stable job density. The University of Nebraska at Kearney, with approximately 6,000 students, produces both a retention draw for younger residents and a consistent pipeline of workers into regional healthcare and education sectors. IRS Statistics of Income county-to-county migration data shows the largest domestic inflows to Buffalo County coming from adjacent rural counties in the central Nebraska region, reflecting the consolidation of population from smaller towns into Kearney as a regional hub.

Adams County (Hastings)

Adams County recorded net domestic migration gains of 235 people between 2023 and 2024, the second-highest of any non-metro Nebraska county. The county seat of Hastings had an estimated population of approximately 25,121, holding steady against the outmigration trend affecting most similarly sized Nebraska cities. Hastings functions as a secondary regional center for south-central Nebraska, with a manufacturing and healthcare base that distinguishes it from purely agricultural counties nearby. Mary Lanning Healthcare is among the city's largest employers, alongside Hastings College, which enrolls approximately 1,100 students and provides a small but stable education sector. The Adams County Fairgrounds and the regional retail along Highway 6 and Highway 281 reflect the city's role as a service hub for surrounding rural counties. IRS migration data shows the largest county-to-county inflows to Adams County coming from within Nebraska's south-central corridor, consistent with the pattern of smaller agricultural communities consolidating toward regional centers as local services contract.

Cass County (Plattsmouth)

Plattsmouth's population reached approximately 6,808 residents, rising an estimated 3.2% between mid-2020 and mid-2023. That rate accelerated in the most recent period, reflecting a broader shift documented by state demographer Josie Schafer: as housing prices in Omaha's traditional suburban ring, including Papillion, Gretna, and Bennington, climbed through the early 2020s, movers began pushing further out into exurban communities. Plattsmouth, located approximately 30 miles south of Omaha on the Missouri River, offers a housing cost profile well below that of Sarpy County, with access to Omaha employment via US-75. IRS migration data shows the dominant in-state inflow to Cass County coming from Sarpy and Douglas counties, consistent with the documented out-of-suburb pattern. New apartment construction, including the Brink complex, signals that the city is actively adding supply to meet demand rather than relying solely on existing housing stock turnover.

Where The State's Growth Goes Next

Nebraska's growth is running along a single corridor: the Omaha-Lincoln axis and the counties immediately adjacent to it, with Kearney and Hastings serving as isolated anchors in the state's interior. More than half of Nebraska's 93 counties continue to lose population, and the domestic outmigration trend, while narrowing, has not reversed at the state level. For residents in the growing counties, the immediate consequences are visible in Sarpy's road infrastructure budget, which exceeded $41 million in fiscal year 2024, and in school enrollment pressure in Papillion-La Vista and Lincoln Public Schools districts. International migration, which drove most of Nebraska's net growth between 2020 and 2024, dropped sharply in the Vintage 2025 estimates released in January 2026. If that trend holds, the domestic migration story in places like Plattsmouth and Kearney becomes more significant to the state's overall population trajectory than the raw numbers currently suggest.