Is being in an area of Nebraska that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?
Depends on who you ask.
Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Omaha and Lincoln, while others want peace and quiet like in Chadron and Holdrege, thank you very much.
But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in Nebraska have grown the fastest.
After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Cornhusker State that have people climbing over each other to get in.
Nebraska lost a net 366 people to other states in the year ending July 2025 — 32nd in the nation for domestic migration; the full moving statistics breakdown shows who’s coming and going.
120.8% growth since 2010 · 5,029 net new residents
Gretna is a city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,441 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
34.1% growth since 2010 · 6,415 net new residents
Located in
Sarpy County, Nebraska
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
28.4% growth since 2010 · 14,269 net new residents
Located in
Sarpy County, Nebraska
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
20.0% growth since 2010 · 81,503 net new residents
Located in
Douglas County, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 10 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River. Omaha is the anchor of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, which includes Council Bluffs, Iowa, across the Missouri River from Omaha. According to the 2010 census, Omaha’s population was 408,958, making it the nation’s 44th-largest city; this had increased to 446,970 as of a 2016 estimate. Including its suburbs, Omaha formed the 60th-largest metropolitan area in the United States in 2013, with an estimated population of 895,151 residing in eight counties. The Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, Nebraska-IA Combined Statistical Area is 931,667, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 estimate. Nearly 1.3 million people reside within the Greater Omaha area, comprising a 50-mile radius of Downtown Omaha, the city’s center.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
16.5% growth since 2010 · 41,821 net new residents
Located in
Lancaster County, Nebraska
Lincoln is the capital of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers 93.46 square miles with a population of 280,364 in 2016. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 71st-largest in the United States. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area in the southeastern part of the state called the Lincoln Metropolitan and Lincoln-Beatrice Combined Statistical Areas. The statistical area is home to 348,720 people, making it the 105th-largest combined statistical area in the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
13.3% growth since 2010 · 4,032 net new residents
Located in
Buffalo County, Nebraska
Kearney is a city in and the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 30,787 at the 2010 census. It is home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The westward push of the railroad as the Civil War ended gave birth to the community.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
13.2% growth since 2010 · 2,848 net new residents
Located in
Platte County, Nebraska
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Platte County, in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 22,111 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12.6% growth since 2010 · 5,909 net new residents
Located in
Hall County, Nebraska
Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 48,520 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12.2% growth since 2010 · 832 net new residents
Located in
Seward County, Nebraska
Seward is a city and county seat of Seward County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,964 at the 2010 census. Seward is part of the Lincoln, Nebraska Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is known for its large Fourth of July celebration.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10.9% growth since 2010 · 647 net new residents
Located in
Colfax County, Nebraska
Schuyler is a city in Colfax County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,211 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Colfax County. The city is named after former Vice President of the United States, Schuyler Colfax.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Nebraska’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Nebraska’s growth is happening
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Cornhusker State for 2026
To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:
- Current Population
- Population in 2010
- Growth rate from 2010 to Current (the latest available data, which came out in Dec 2024)
We ranked all 32 Nebraska cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.
The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Cornhusker State.
And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula: [Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010].
The data has been updated for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the fastest growing cities in Nebraska.
The full plate
Fastest Growing Places In Nebraska For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Population 2010 | Growth | Absolute Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gretna | 9,193 | 4,164 | 120.8% | 5,029 |
| 2 | Papillion | 25,244 | 18,829 | 34.1% | 6,415 |
| 3 | Bellevue | 64,510 | 50,241 | 28.4% | 14,269 |
| 4 | Omaha | 488,837 | 407,334 | 20.0% | 81,503 |
| 5 | Lincoln | 294,856 | 253,035 | 16.5% | 41,821 |
| 6 | Kearney | 34,246 | 30,214 | 13.3% | 4,032 |
| 7 | Columbus | 24,488 | 21,640 | 13.2% | 2,848 |
| 8 | Grand Island | 52,884 | 46,975 | 12.6% | 5,909 |
| 9 | Seward | 7,678 | 6,846 | 12.2% | 832 |
| 10 | Schuyler | 6,578 | 5,931 | 10.9% | 647 |
| 11 | Crete | 7,527 | 6,801 | 10.7% | 726 |
| 12 | La Vista | 16,563 | 15,044 | 10.1% | 1,519 |
| 13 | Wayne | 6,121 | 5,585 | 9.6% | 536 |
| 14 | Norfolk | 26,054 | 23,961 | 8.7% | 2,093 |
| 15 | Ralston | 6,472 | 5,961 | 8.6% | 511 |
| 16 | Lexington | 10,862 | 10,111 | 7.4% | 751 |
| 17 | South Sioux City | 13,907 | 12,977 | 7.2% | 930 |
| 18 | Fremont | 27,567 | 26,223 | 5.1% | 1,344 |
| 19 | York | 8,141 | 7,869 | 3.5% | 272 |
| 20 | Gering | 8,550 | 8,271 | 3.4% | 279 |
| 21 | Plattsmouth | 6,731 | 6,599 | 2.0% | 132 |
| 22 | Hastings | 25,008 | 24,717 | 1.2% | 291 |
| 23 | Nebraska City | 7,369 | 7,300 | 0.9% | 69 |
| 24 | Holdrege | 5,546 | 5,499 | 0.9% | 47 |
| 25 | Blair | 7,914 | 7,980 | -0.8% | -66 |
| 26 | Beatrice | 12,225 | 12,584 | -2.9% | -359 |
| 27 | Scottsbluff | 14,376 | 14,841 | -3.1% | -465 |
| 28 | Sidney | 6,419 | 6,748 | -4.9% | -329 |
| 29 | Alliance | 8,075 | 8,524 | -5.3% | -449 |
| 30 | McCook | 7,314 | 7,729 | -5.4% | -415 |
| 31 | North Platte | 22,831 | 24,722 | -7.6% | -1,891 |
| 32 | Chadron | 5,160 | 5,812 | -11.2% | -652 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS, 2010-current. 32 Nebraska cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In Nebraska, You Know?
So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in Nebraska are led by Gretna which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.
The fastest-growing cities in Nebraska are Gretna, Papillion, Bellevue, Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney, Columbus, Grand Island, Seward, and Schuyler.
It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know! Not sold on Nebraska? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Fastest Growing Cities In Nebraska FAQs
What is the fastest-growing city in Nebraska?
Gretna is the fastest-growing city in Nebraska for 2026, based on population change since 2010. Papillion and Bellevue are growing nearly as fast.
What are the top 10 fastest-growing cities in Nebraska?
The fastest-growing cities in Nebraska are Gretna, Papillion, Bellevue, Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney, Columbus, Grand Island, Seward, and Schuyler. We ranked all 32 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
How do you measure growth?
Growth is the percent change in population from the 2010 Census to the latest American Community Survey estimates. No projections, no vibes — just how many more people actually live there now.
What is the slowest-growing city on the list?
Chadron posts the smallest population change of the 32 Nebraska cities we ranked. Slow growth is not automatically bad news, but the momentum is clearly elsewhere.
Do small towns count in this ranking?
Only places with more than 5,000 residents qualify, which keeps one new subdivision from turning a tiny town into a statistical rocket. 32 Nebraska cities cleared that bar this year.
