Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in Nebraska

Cities in Nebraska by population

Omaha, NE had the highest population of 16 cities in 2021, at 488,812. Lexington, NE had the lowest, at 10,706. The median was 25,134 and the figure for Nebraska was 1.96 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest488,812Omaha, NE
Lowest10,706Lexington, NE
Median25,13416 cities
Nebraska1,964,697History

All cities, 2021

Omaha, NE: 488,812 personsOmaha, NE488,812Lincoln, NE: 291,790 personsLincoln, NE291,790Bellevue, NE: 64,782 personsBellevue, NE64,782Grand Island, NE: 52,459 personsGrand Island, NE52,459Kearney, NE: 34,040 personsKearney, NE34,040Fremont, NE: 27,338 personsFremont, NE27,338Norfolk, NE: 25,958 personsNorfolk, NE25,958Papillion, NE: 25,312 personsPapillion, NE25,312Hastings, NE: 24,955 personsHastings, NE24,955Columbus, NE: 24,142 personsColumbus, NE24,142North Platte, NE: 22,981 personsNorth Platte, NE22,981La Vista, NE: 16,682 personsLa Vista, NE16,682Scottsbluff, NE: 14,420 personsScottsbluff, NE14,420South Sioux City, NE: 13,854 personsSouth Sioux City, NE13,854Beatrice, NE: 12,200 personsBeatrice, NE12,200Lexington, NE: 10,706 personsLexington, NE10,706Omaha, NE: 488,812 personsOmaha, NE488,812Lincoln, NE: 291,790 personsLincoln, NE291,790Bellevue, NE: 64,782 personsBellevue, NE64,782Grand Island, NE: 52,459 personsGrand Island, NE52,459Kearney, NE: 34,040 personsKearney, NE34,040Fremont, NE: 27,338 personsFremont, NE27,338Norfolk, NE: 25,958 personsNorfolk, NE25,958Papillion, NE: 25,312 personsPapillion, NE25,312Hastings, NE: 24,955 personsHastings, NE24,955Columbus, NE: 24,142 personsColumbus, NE24,142North Platte, NE: 22,981 personsNorth Platte, NE22,981La Vista, NE: 16,682 personsLa Vista, NE16,682Scottsbluff, NE: 14,420 personsScottsbluff, NE14,420South Sioux City, NE: 13,854 personsSouth Sioux City, NE13,854Beatrice, NE: 12,200 personsBeatrice, NE12,200Lexington, NE: 10,706 personsLexington, NE10,706
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Omaha, NE488,812-0.8%
2Lincoln, NE291,790-0%
3Bellevue, NE64,782-0.6%
4Grand Island, NE52,459-1.1%
5Kearney, NE34,040+0.4%
6Fremont, NE27,338+0.8%
7Norfolk, NE25,958+0.2%
8Papillion, NE25,312-0.7%
9Hastings, NE24,955-0.7%
10Columbus, NE24,142+0.2%
11North Platte, NE22,981-1.4%
12La Vista, NE16,682-0.6%
13Scottsbluff, NE14,420-0.1%
14South Sioux City, NE13,854-1.2%
15Beatrice, NE12,200-0.2%
16Lexington, NE10,706+0.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón).
  • Norway: Statistics Norway, 1 January.
  • Iceland and its municipalities: Statistics Iceland, 1 January.
  • United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July.
  • United Kingdom regions and local authorities: Office for National Statistics estimates for 30 June.
  • Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
  • UN World Population Prospects estimates for 1 July cover the years before 1960 and the areas the World Bank does not publish, such as Taiwan.

The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

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. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. 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). Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals) (Cities in Nebraska by population, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/

MLA 9

Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Nebraska by population, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/nebraska-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Cities in Nebraska by population, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/nebraska-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Nebraska by population, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/nebraska-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_nebraska_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Nebraska by population, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/nebraska-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Nebraska by population, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/nebraska-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/nebraska-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Omaha, NE, with 488,812 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Lexington, NE, with 10,706 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Population: other rankings

Cities in Nebraska: more rankings