Nebraska's population is concentrated mainly in the state's eastern counties. The state's largest city, Omaha, rests on its eastern border and has a population of 509,178 people—more than a quarter of the state's total population—which expands to nearly a million when incorporating the city's greater metropolitan area.
Nebraska's capital, Lincoln, is the state's second-largest city, with 300,892 residents, and is less than an hour's drive from Omaha. Approximately 89% of cities in the "Cornhusker State" have fewer than 3,000 people, a range similar to that of many states in the Midwest, Plains, and Mountain regions.
Nebraska entered the Union in March 1867, 13 years after it became a territory under the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the first state admitted after the end of the Civil War. The state is strongly Republican in presidential elections – it last voted Democratic in 1964. However, it is one of only two states (Maine being the other) not to use the winner-take-all approach to awarding electoral votes. The popular vote winner gets two electoral votes, while one is assigned to the winner of each of the state's three congressional districts. This approach was established beginning with the 1992 election and has come into play twice, with the Democratic candidate winning the 2nd Congressional District (Omaha area) in both 2008 and 2020.
Donald Trump won statewide over Joe Biden by 19% in 2020. Nebraska's primarily rural population has not grown as quickly as other parts of the country, leading to declining electoral influence – from a peak of eight electoral votes before the Great Depression to its current total of five.
According to a 2022 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, this state's local governments consist of 93 counties, 878 cities, towns, and villages, and 1,303 special districts.
The median age in Nebraska is approximately 36.2. The ratio of females to males is approximately 50.3% females and 49.7% males.
In terms of religious preferences across the state, 75% of Nebraskans are of the Christian faith, 4% are of non-Christian faith, and 20% are affiliated with any religion.
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Nebraska was:
White: 83.55%
Two or more races: 5.14%
Black or African American: 4.78%
Other race: 3.08%
Asian: 2.48%
Native American: 0.92%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.06%
Muslims are under 7,000.
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