The 10 Most Liberal Cities In Nebraska For 2026

The most liberal cities in Nebraska are Omaha and Ralston for 2026 based on Saturday Night Science.

In this article, we will explore some of the most liberal cities in Nebraska, where progressive ideas and inclusive attitudes flourish.

If you’re looking to move to Nebraska and want to know where the majority of Nebraskans lean left, you’ve come to the right place.

Specifically, we wanted to know which cities have the highest number of liberal voters in the Cornhusker State.

To do so, we analyzed how the people in each city in Nebraska with a population greater than 5,000 voted during the last presidential election. The cities with the highest percentage of voters who voted Democrat were named the most liberal cities in the state.

1

No. 1 most liberal place in Nebraska

Omaha, NE

488,837 peopleSnackAbility 7/10
7/10
Omaha, NE
Source: Wikipedia User Raymond Bucko, SJ | CC BY 2.0
54.7% Democrat vote · #2 most liberal in Nebraska
Map of Omaha within Nebraska 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.

1

No. 1 most liberal place in Nebraska

Ralston, NE

6,472 peopleSnackAbility 8.5/10
8.5/10
Ralston, NE
Source: Wikipedia User Jared Winkler | CC BY-SA 4.0
54.7% Democrat vote · #2 most liberal in Nebraska
Map of Ralston within Nebraska Located in Douglas County, Nebraska

Ralston is a city in Douglas County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,943 at the 2010 census. Ralston is surrounded on three sides by the city of Omaha, and by Sarpy County on the south side.

3

No. 3 most liberal place in Nebraska

Lincoln, NE

294,856 peopleSnackAbility 7.5/10
7.5/10
Lincoln, NE
Source: Wikipedia User Hanyou23 | CC BY-SA 4.0
52.7% Democrat vote · #3 most liberal in Nebraska
Map of Lincoln within Nebraska 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.

5

No. 5 most liberal place in Nebraska

Bellevue, NE

64,510 peopleSnackAbility 7.5/10
7.5/10
Bellevue, NE
Source: Public domain
43.1% Democrat vote · #6 most liberal in Nebraska
Map of Bellevue within Nebraska Located in Sarpy County, Nebraska
5

No. 5 most liberal place in Nebraska

Papillion, NE

25,244 peopleSnackAbility 9.5/10
9.5/10
Papillion, NE
Source: Wikipedia User Atomic Energy505 | CC BY-SA 3.0
43.1% Democrat vote · #6 most liberal in Nebraska
Map of Papillion within Nebraska Located in Sarpy County, Nebraska
5

No. 5 most liberal place in Nebraska

La Vista, NE

16,563 peopleSnackAbility 8.5/10
8.5/10
La Vista, NE
Source: Wikipedia User Paltron | CC BY-SA 4.0
43.1% Democrat vote · #6 most liberal in Nebraska
Map of La Vista within Nebraska Located in Sarpy County, Nebraska

La Vista is a city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 15,758 at the 2010 census. The city was incorporated on February 23, 1960.

5

No. 5 most liberal place in Nebraska

Gretna, NE

9,193 peopleSnackAbility 6/10
6/10
Gretna, NE
Source: Wikipedia User Jared Winkler | CC BY-SA 4.0
43.1% Democrat vote · #6 most liberal in Nebraska
Located in Sarpy County, Nebraska

Gretna is a city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,441 at the 2010 census.

8

No. 8 most liberal place in Nebraska

South Sioux City, NE

13,907 peopleSnackAbility 6/10
6/10
South Sioux City, NE
Source: Public domain
40.4% Democrat vote · #8 most liberal in Nebraska
Located in Dakota County, Nebraska

South Sioux City is a city in Dakota County, Nebraska, United States. It is located immediately across the Missouri River from Sioux City, Iowa, and is part of the Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,353, making it the 14th largest city in Nebraska.

9

No. 9 most liberal place in Nebraska

Crete, NE

7,527 peopleSnackAbility 6/10
6/10
Crete, NE
Source: Public domain
34.4% Democrat vote · #9 most liberal in Nebraska
Map of Crete within Nebraska Located in Saline County, Nebraska

Crete is a city in Saline County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,960 at the 2010 census.

10

No. 10 most liberal place in Nebraska

Fremont, NE

27,567 peopleSnackAbility 6/10
6/10
Fremont, NE
Source: Public domain
32.9% Democrat vote · #10 most liberal in Nebraska
Map of Fremont within Nebraska Located in Dodge County, Nebraska

Fremont is a city in Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 26,397 at the 2010 census. Fremont is the county seat and the home of Midland University.

The receipts

Compare the top ten

Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Nebraska’s statewide median.

City % Democrat vs NE
1 Omaha 0.5468247069477834
1 Ralston 0.5468247069477834
3 Lincoln 0.5272116906163712
5 Bellevue 0.4306962256854076
5 Papillion 0.4306962256854076
5 La Vista 0.4306962256854076
5 Gretna 0.4306962256854076
8 South Sioux City 0.4038857815719753
9 Crete 0.3441941074523397
10 Fremont 0.328513865844987
City Population vs NE
1 Omaha 488,837
1 Ralston 6,472
3 Lincoln 294,856
5 Bellevue 64,510
5 Papillion 25,244
5 La Vista 16,563
5 Gretna 9,193
8 South Sioux City 13,907
9 Crete 7,527
10 Fremont 27,567

On the map

Mapping the liberal strongholds in Nebraska

Saturday Night Science

How we determined the most liberal cities in Nebraska for 2026

To find the most liberal places in Nebraska, we used Saturday Night Science – the argument you’d make at a bar – to find the cities with the most liberals.

We started by making a list of every city in Nebraska over 5,000 people based on the 2020-2024 American Community Survey. That left us with 32 cities and towns.

We then measured the voting record and MIT election data to determine which places lean the most leftward in their allegiances by:

  • Percentage Of Votes For Democratic President In 2020

Because no voting data exists at the city level, we used county-level election results from the 2020 election. We assigned every city in a county the percentage of votes that went to the Democrats, effectively extending the county’s results to the city level. In cases where larger cities encompassed an entire county, the election outcomes accurately reflected the city’s political landscape.

The winner, Omaha, is “The Most liberal City in Nebraska For 2026”. The most conservative place in Nebraska was McCook.

We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the most liberal places to live in Nebraska.

The full plate

Most Liberal Places In Nebraska

Click any column to sort. Search by city name.

RankCityPopulation% Liberal
1Omaha488,83754.7%
1Ralston6,47254.7%
3Lincoln294,85652.7%
5Bellevue64,51043.1%
5Papillion25,24443.1%
5La Vista16,56343.1%
5Gretna9,19343.1%
8South Sioux City13,90740.4%
9Crete7,52734.4%
10Fremont27,56732.9%
11Grand Island52,88431.5%
12Plattsmouth6,73131.0%
13Beatrice12,22530.6%
14Nebraska City7,36929.9%
15Hastings25,00828.9%
16Blair7,91428.6%
17Schuyler6,57827.6%
18Lexington10,86227.2%
19Scottsbluff14,37627.1%
19Gering8,55027.1%
21Kearney34,24626.9%
22Seward7,67826.7%
23Chadron5,16026.3%
24Wayne6,12124.3%
25York8,14122.8%
26Norfolk26,05422.1%
27North Platte22,83121.6%
28Columbus24,48820.8%
29Alliance8,07520.3%
30Sidney6,41917.9%
31Holdrege5,54615.0%
32McCook7,31414.9%

Source: county-level 2020 election results, U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 32 cities with more than 5,000 residents.

Summary

Summing Up The Liberal Snowflakes in Nebraska

Well, there you have it, the places in Nebraska that have the highest number of liberals per capita, with Omaha ranking as the least conservative in the entire state.

The most liberal cities in Nebraska are Omaha, Ralston, Lincoln, Bellevue, Papillion, La Vista, Gretna, South Sioux City, Crete, and Fremont.

If you’re curious, here are the least liberal cities in Nebraska.

Keep reading

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Nick Johnson
About the author

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 900,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

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