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Facts about Nebraska

History | Symbols | Interesting Facts | Famous People

Demographics
Statehood:  March 1, 1867, the 37th state

Capital:  Lincoln

Total Area:  16th among states, 200,520 sq km (77,420 sq mi)

Water Area:  1,246 sq km (481 sq mi)

Highest Point:  Johnson Twp., Kimball Co 1,653 m (5,424 ft)

Total Population:  38th among states
2010 census -  1,826,341

Population Density in 2010:  23.8 people per sq mi

Distribution in 2000:  67.2% Urban, 32.8% Rural 

Economy:  
 Gross State Product - $89.6 billion (2010)
Personal income per Capita - $38,081 (2009)

Largest cities in 2010: 
 Omaha:  408,958
Lincoln:  258,379
Bellevue:  50,137

  • Nebraska became one of the first states to provide the entire state with educational television in 1963.
     

  • In 1927, Edwin E. Perkins of Hastings invented the powdered soft drink Kool-Aid. 
     

  • The Lied Jungle located in Omaha is the world's largest indoor rain forest. 
     

  • Nebraska is the only state in the union with a unicameral (one house) legislature. 
     

  • The 911 system of emergency communications, now used nationwide, was developed and first used in Lincoln, Nebraska. 
     

  • Mutual of Omaha Corporate headquarters is a public building built with 7 floors underground. 
     

  • There are five army forts open to the public in Nebraska: Atkinson, Kearny, Hartsuff, Sidney, and Robinson.
     

  • One of the greatest American novelists, Willa Cather, grew up on a farm near Red Cloud and later attended the University of Nebraska.
     

  • The Sand Hills in central and north central Nebraska consist of grass-covered sand dunes and cover one-quarter of the state.
     

  • The Ogallala aquifer, which stretches as far south as Texas, is Nebraska's primary source of irrigation water.