Cities in Nebraska by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024

Papillion, NE had the highest graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over of 16 cities in 2024, at 17%. Lexington, NE had the lowest, at 2.3%. The median was 9.5% and the figure for Nebraska was 12.3%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest17Papillion, NE
Lowest2.3Lexington, NE
Median9.516 cities
Nebraska12.3History

All cities, 2024

Papillion, NE: 17 %Papillion, NE17Lincoln, NE: 15.3 %Lincoln, NE15.3Omaha, NE: 14.8 %Omaha, NE14.8Bellevue, NE: 13.5 %Bellevue, NE13.5Kearney, NE: 12.5 %Kearney, NE12.5Hastings, NE: 12.1 %Hastings, NE12.1La Vista, NE: 10.6 %La Vista, NE10.6Scottsbluff, NE: 9.6 %Scottsbluff, NE9.6Norfolk, NE: 9.5 %Norfolk, NE9.5Grand Island, NE: 7.6 %Grand Island, NE7.6Fremont, NE: 6.9 %Fremont, NE6.9North Platte, NE: 6.6 %North Platte, NE6.6Columbus, NE: 5.9 %Columbus, NE5.9Beatrice, NE: 4.8 %Beatrice, NE4.8South Sioux City, NE: 3.3 %South Sioux City, NE3.3Lexington, NE: 2.3 %Lexington, NE2.3Papillion, NE: 17 %Papillion, NE17Lincoln, NE: 15.3 %Lincoln, NE15.3Omaha, NE: 14.8 %Omaha, NE14.8Bellevue, NE: 13.5 %Bellevue, NE13.5Kearney, NE: 12.5 %Kearney, NE12.5Hastings, NE: 12.1 %Hastings, NE12.1La Vista, NE: 10.6 %La Vista, NE10.6Scottsbluff, NE: 9.6 %Scottsbluff, NE9.6Norfolk, NE: 9.5 %Norfolk, NE9.5Grand Island, NE: 7.6 %Grand Island, NE7.6Fremont, NE: 6.9 %Fremont, NE6.9North Platte, NE: 6.6 %North Platte, NE6.6Columbus, NE: 5.9 %Columbus, NE5.9Beatrice, NE: 4.8 %Beatrice, NE4.8South Sioux City, NE: 3.3 %South Sioux City, NE3.3Lexington, NE: 2.3 %Lexington, NE2.3
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2024 (%)Change on 2023
1Papillion, NE17-0 pts
2Lincoln, NE15.3+0.8 pts
3Omaha, NE14.8+0.1 pts
4Bellevue, NE13.5+0.7 pts
5Kearney, NE12.5-0.6 pts
6Hastings, NE12.1+1.1 pts
7La Vista, NE10.6-0.5 pts
8Scottsbluff, NE9.6-0.6 pts
9Norfolk, NE9.5+0.6 pts
10Grand Island, NE7.6+0.1 pts
11Fremont, NE6.9-0.6 pts
12North Platte, NE6.6+0.5 pts
13Columbus, NE5.9-0.7 pts
14Beatrice, NE4.8-0 pts
15South Sioux City, NE3.3-0 pts
16Lexington, NE2.30 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

A subset of bachelors_degree_share, which also counts people whose highest degree is a bachelor's.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Nebraska by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Nebraska by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/nebraska-cities. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Nebraska by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/nebraska-cities.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Nebraska by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/nebraska-cities (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_nebraska_by_2024,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Nebraska by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/nebraska-cities. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Nebraska by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/nebraska-cities
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/nebraska-cities.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Cities in Nebraska by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"graduate_degree_share","level":"municipality","within":"Nebraska","limit":10}
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Questions

Which city has the highest graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over?

Papillion, NE, with 17% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over?

Lexington, NE, with 2.3% in 2024.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over: other rankings

Cities in Nebraska: more rankings