BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

09/04/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/04/2026 10:32

County Employment and Wages in Nebraska — First Quarter 2026

News Release Information

26-1437-CHI
Friday, September 04, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

County Employment and Wages in Nebraska - First Quarter 2026

Employment declined in 1 of the 3 largest counties in Nebraska from March 2025 to March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Nebraska employment decreased 0.1 percent over the year to 1,008,200 in March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. (See table 1.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that employment decreased 0.3 percent in Lancaster County. (See chart 1.)

View Chart Data
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Nebraska, March 2026
County Percent change, March 2026

Lancaster

-0.3

Douglas

0.4

Sarpy

1.0

Douglas County (337,700) had the highest employment level in Nebraska in March 2026. Together, the three largest counties accounted for 59.0 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 376 largest counties comprise 73.5 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2025.)

Large county average weekly wages in the first quarter 2026

Average weekly wage gains in the two large counties in Nebraska with published data were below the national average of 3.9 percent. (See chart 2.) Douglas had the largest gain (+3.6 percent). In Lancaster, the average weekly wage increased 2.2 percent over the year.

View Chart Data
Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Nebraska, first quarter 2026
County Percent change, first quarter 2026

Douglas

3.6

Lancaster

2.2

Weekly wages in all three large counties in Nebraska were below the national average of $1,654: $1,441 in Douglas, $1,199 in Lancaster, and $1,196 in Sarpy.

Statewide, average weekly wages increased 3.7 percent over the year to $1,274. Nebraska ranked 42nd in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 26th in wage growth.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the first quarter 2026

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 90 smaller counties in Nebraska, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2025. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 89 of the 90 smaller counties were below the national average. Stanton reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,770) in the state. Keya Paha reported the lowest average weekly wage ($653).

Among all 93 Nebraska counties, 24 reported average weekly wages less than $875, 20 had wages from $875 to $949, 16 had wages from $950 to $1,024, 15 had wages from $1,025 to $1,099, and 18 had average weekly wages of $1,100 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Nebraska, first quarter 2026

(U.S. average = $1,654)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for all states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 2, 2026.

County Changes for the 2026 County Employment and Wages News Releases

Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2025 are included in this release and will be included in future 2026 releases. Five counties have been added to the publication tables: Kenton, KY; Union, NC; Licking, OH; Gregg, TX; and Kenosha, WI. One county has been dropped from the publication tables: Wood, OH.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the three largest counties in Nebraska, first quarter 2026
Area Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2026
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2025-26 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3) 		First quarter
2026 ($) 		National ranking
by level (3) 		Percent change,
first quarter
2025-26 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3)

United States (4)

12,381.8 154,771.9 0.1 -- 1,654 -- 3.9 --

Nebraska

78.9 1,008.2 -0.1 -- 1,274 42 3.7 26

Douglas

19.2 337.7 0.4 111 1,441 162 3.6 172

Lancaster

9.9 173.8 -0.3 185 1,199 318 2.2 283

Sarpy

5.0 83.0 1.0 57 1,196 321 (5) -

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications.
(3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(5) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in Nebraska, first quarter 2026
Area Establishments Employment March 2026 Average weekly wage ($) (1)

United States (2)

12,381,750 154,771,941 1,654

Nebraska

78,898 1,008,180 1,274

Adams

1,021 15,188 1,023

Antelope

298 2,183 911

Arthur

15 100 766

Banner

14 142 879

Blaine

25 127 864

Boone

253 2,366 1,066

Box Butte

360 3,604 996

Boyd

88 533 759

Brown

161 1,341 912

Buffalo

1,909 28,045 1,070

Burt

232 1,579 897

Butler

275 2,714 1,167

Cass

725 5,937 1,072

Cedar

341 2,658 872

Chase

223 1,654 1,001

Cherry

303 2,175 868

Cheyenne

331 3,909 937

Clay

254 2,018 967

Colfax

297 4,794 1,045

Cuming

415 3,958 1,025

Custer

477 4,422 941

Dakota

509 14,598 1,198

Dawes

284 2,932 838

Dawson

744 8,121 1,015

Deuel

71 543 776

Dixon

150 1,692 980

Dodge

1,104 19,343 1,171

Douglas

19,221 337,733 1,441

Dundy

86 655 1,151

Fillmore

281 2,304 1,135

Franklin

130 801 843

Frontier

89 689 846

Furnas

208 1,774 938

Gage

730 8,649 990

Garden

72 503 1,066

Garfield

105 737 766

Gosper

78 419 1,094

Grant

47 248 857

Greeley

122 625 796

Hall

1,992 35,709 1,080

Hamilton

377 3,731 1,121

Harlan

124 867 908

Hayes

35 217 771

Hitchcock

93 607 1,042

Holt

519 4,303 947

Hooker

35 217 696

Howard

223 1,543 843

Jefferson

281 3,355 968

Johnson

123 1,580 1,062

Kearney

217 2,056 999

Keith

379 3,088 931

Keya Paha

31 131 653

Kimball

140 1,582 1,074

Knox

323 2,820 880

Lancaster

9,891 173,795 1,199

Lincoln

1,117 15,541 1,090

Logan

36 162 842

Loup

23 116 789

McPherson

10 54 901

Madison

1,306 21,481 1,113

Merrick

271 2,385 985

Morrill

179 1,488 1,006

Nance

112 925 926

Nemaha

217 2,957 1,505

Nuckolls

180 1,614 816

Otoe

509 6,097 1,072

Pawnee

90 700 904

Perkins

153 1,159 1,146

Phelps

422 4,846 1,143

Pierce

240 2,339 999

Platte

1,169 19,869 1,217

Polk

162 1,368 946

Red Willow

433 4,874 946

Richardson

291 2,278 891

Rock

67 496 971

Saline

371 6,501 1,140

Sarpy

4,966 83,045 1,196

Saunders

673 5,889 970

Scotts Bluff

1,182 15,498 1,037

Seward

538 6,119 1,002

Sheridan

213 1,658 816

Sherman

101 648 753

Sioux

30 181 845

Stanton

117 1,434 1,770

Thayer

261 2,151 1,018

Thomas

40 246 894

Thurston

163 3,293 1,123

Valley

230 1,718 891

Washington

691 8,194 1,247

Wayne

286 4,049 869

Webster

125 1,026 878

Wheeler

40 303 848

York

644 7,720 1,067

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, first quarter 2026
State Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2026
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2025-26 		First quarter
2026 ($) 		National ranking
by level 		Percent change,
first quarter
2025-26 		National ranking
by percent change

United States (2)

12,381.8 154,771.9 0.1 1,654 -- 3.9 --

Alabama

168.7 2,121.2 0.7 1,292 38 3.6 28

Alaska

25.4 320.1 -1.3 1,519 18 4.8 6

Arizona

227.8 3,249.1 -0.6 1,495 21 4.5 10

Arkansas

109.4 1,305.2 -0.1 1,291 39 4.6 8

California

1,990.7 18,211.8 0.9 1,986 6 2.7 44

Colorado

264.7 2,848.5 -0.7 1,774 8 5.4 4

Connecticut

150.0 1,668.2 -0.4 2,080 4 5.2 5

Delaware

47.1 473.6 -0.3 1,606 15 3.1 39

District of Columbia

51.4 715.8 -4.5 2,725 1 4.5 10

Florida

894.1 9,962.8 0.0 1,518 19 4.3 13

Georgia

397.4 4,865.2 0.0 1,539 17 3.3 34

Hawaii

64.6 643.9 -0.3 1,387 29 1.7 51

Idaho

100.8 867.9 1.9 1,254 44 6.2 2

Illinois

389.4 5,992.4 0.0 1,731 9 4.1 16

Indiana

197.7 3,160.7 -0.1 1,356 30 2.7 44

Iowa

110.8 1,537.5 -0.1 1,301 36 3.9 22

Kansas

102.2 1,425.3 0.0 1,286 41 3.1 39

Kentucky

163.0 1,979.1 -0.4 1,248 45 2.9 43

Louisiana

159.6 1,917.2 -0.5 1,274 42 4.0 17

Maine

67.5 629.1 -0.5 1,327 34 3.5 30

Maryland

201.1 2,700.3 -1.7 1,676 10 2.7 44

Massachusetts

296.4 3,552.9 -0.9 2,201 3 4.8 6

Michigan

312.6 4,357.5 0.3 1,445 24 3.9 22

Minnesota

213.9 2,878.1 -0.3 1,630 14 3.8 24

Mississippi

93.3 1,162.9 -0.2 1,051 51 3.3 34

Missouri

263.5 2,890.5 0.1 1,354 31 3.4 32

Montana

63.2 506.6 0.6 1,229 48 3.5 30

Nebraska

78.9 1,008.2 -0.1 1,274 42 3.7 26

Nevada

112.8 1,575.7 2.0 1,391 28 2.1 50

New Hampshire

66.1 675.0 -1.2 1,656 12 3.0 41

New Jersey

343.4 4,247.8 0.0 1,879 7 3.3 34

New Mexico

67.1 867.4 -0.4 1,235 46 2.7 44

New York

710.5 9,743.6 -0.3 2,363 2 6.5 1

North Carolina

375.3 4,942.7 0.8 1,515 20 3.3 34

North Dakota

36.9 420.7 -0.5 1,333 33 2.4 49

Ohio

344.6 5,458.3 -0.2 1,417 26 4.0 17

Oklahoma

130.2 1,700.6 0.0 1,235 46 3.6 28

Oregon

173.5 1,952.3 -1.3 1,481 23 4.6 8

Pennsylvania

394.1 6,002.1 -0.1 1,550 16 3.3 34

Rhode Island

49.1 486.9 -0.6 1,487 22 4.2 14

South Carolina

193.1 2,326.6 0.7 1,296 37 4.0 17

South Dakota

41.1 451.7 0.2 1,211 49 4.2 14

Tennessee

228.1 3,254.1 -0.2 1,426 25 4.4 12

Texas

868.8 14,124.6 0.6 1,646 13 3.8 24

Utah

140.6 1,737.8 0.9 1,415 27 4.0 17

Vermont

33.4 304.2 -1.0 1,322 35 3.0 41

Virginia

324.8 4,118.7 -0.2 1,665 11 4.0 17

Washington

240.6 3,558.6 -0.2 1,998 5 2.7 44

West Virginia

63.0 693.3 -0.4 1,188 50 3.4 32

Wisconsin

208.0 2,902.6 0.0 1,353 32 3.7 26

Wyoming

31.8 275.2 -0.1 1,287 40 5.8 3

Puerto Rico

52.9 944.5 -0.8 724 (3) 3.4 (3)

Virgin Islands

2.9 34.9 1.2 1,054 (3) 1.5 (3)

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(3) Data not included in the national ranking.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on September 04, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 04, 2026 at 16:32 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]