Official Federal Data
Lancaster County, Nebraska
FIPS 31109 · Lincoln, NE · Population 326,696
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$74,793 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
2.9% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$28.8B ▲
GDP
41.9% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$74,793 ▲
Per Capita
$41,036 ▲
Mean Household
$99,410 ▲
Poverty Rate
11.9% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Lancaster County$74,793
Nebraska$76,475
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 22.4%
18-34 · 28.3%
35-54 · 23.4%
55-64 · 10.5%
65+ · 15.3%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
93.6%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +4.0 pts
41.9%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +6.2 pts
15.4%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +1.3 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
326,696
Population
182,623
Labor Force
Employed
176,247
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
2.9% ▲ +0.4 pts YoY
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.6%
Key Takeaways
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 6.2 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
- Young population: Median age of 34 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 27,156 workers (22.1% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $61,733.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $28.8B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $93,232 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $22,883, a 4.1x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Transportation & Warehousing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
6,559
Cluster Employment
2.72x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Truck Transportation
2.72x 4,577
Support Activities for Transportation
2.13x 1,982
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
2.07x 1,018
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
1.99x 2,027
Chemical Manufacturing
1.71x 1,734
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
1.70x 3,355
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.12x
Wood Product Manufacturing
53 employed
0.12x
Air Transportation
78 employed
0.23x
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
87 employed
0.25x
Crop Production
150 employed
0.34x
Machinery Manufacturing
422 employed
0.37x
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
138 employed
0.37x
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
239 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Truck Transportation concentrates at 2.72x the national norm.
- Cluster depth: 6 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$275,200 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,085 ▲
Rent/Mo
58.9% ▼
Owner-Occ
4.4% ▼
Vacancy
3.7x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$855/mo
1 Bedroom
$926/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,141/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,587/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,712/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,870/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.7x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,870/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
203,498 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.6%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
85%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
41.9% ▲
HS Diploma+
93.6% ▼
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
20,331/yr
6,113/yr
3,604/yr
3,235/yr
2,955/yr
2,601/yr
1,823/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
16.9%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
44.2%
Service
15.8%
Sales & Office
20.4%
Construction / Maint.
7.2%
Production / Transport
12.3%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 176,247 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 19.0-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 12,952 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Lancaster County shows emerging potential for truck transportation attraction, with a 2.72x concentration and 4,577 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across truck transportation, support activities for transportation, and electrical equipment, appliance manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Lancaster County, Nebraska, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Lancaster County, Nebraska?
326,696 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Lancaster County, Nebraska?
$74,793 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Lancaster County, Nebraska?
2.9% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Lancaster County, Nebraska?
$28.8B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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