Douglas County

General

Population:  584,526
Land area (sq. mi.):  326.41
Population per square mile:  1,790.80

Race & Age

Race  2020

White:  65.3%
African American:  10.9%
American Indian:  0.5%
Asian:  4.7%
Hispanic:  13.8%
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander:  0.1%
Two or More Races:  4.4%

Age  2020

0-17:  25.3%
18-64:  60.9%
65+:  13.8%

Households

Total households:  229,416  2020
With one child:  32,440  2022
With 2+ children:  43,300  2022
With seniors (65+):  45,220  2022

Socioeconomics

Personal income per capita: $73,848  2021
% of Population in Poverty: 12.2%  2022
# of Housing Units: 245,050  2020
2023 housing unit building permits:  3,201
Owner-occupied rate: 59.8%  2020
Median home price: $311,830  Q1 2024

Technology

Access to broadband (100 Mbps via fiber or cable modem):  99.1%  2021

Sources: National Association of Realtors, Nebraska Library Commission, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Census Bureau

Employment, Schools, and Child Care

Unemployment rate:  2.5%  Sept. 2024

County Employment Website:  https://hr.douglascounty-ne.gov/employment

High school graduate or higher:  90.8%  2020

School Districts:  Arlington Public Schools, Bennington Public Schools, Douglas County West Community Schools, Elkhorn Public Schools, Fort Calhoun Community Schools, Fremont Public Schools, Gretna Public Schools, Millard Public Schools, Omaha Public Schools, Ralston Public Schools, Westside Community Schools

Bachelor's degree or higher:  40.2%  2020

Community College Service Area:  Metropolitan Community College

County child care capacity:  769 providers; 51,084 children  2024

Find child care:  For a list of child care providers in your zip code, visit Nebraska DHHS or the Nebraska Resource and Referral System.

Douglas County Economy

Annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP):  $51,399,407,000  2022

Nonfarm Small Business Receipts:  $10,751,164,371  2021

Nonfarm Wage Income:  $16,695,594,000  2021

Farm and Ranch Commodity Sales Receipts:  $58,610,000  2022

Farm and Ranch Operations (Non-Sales) Receipts:  $3,859,000  2022

• For components of nonfarm small business receipts, nonfarm wage income, and farm & ranch commodity sales and operations receipts, see "Notes" below.

Grain Elevators by Location (bushels capacity):

• Omaha: West Plains (847,000)
• (1 bushel = 56 lbs. corn/sorghum, 60 lbs. soybeans/wheat; % max. moisture = 18% beans, 15.5% corn, 14% sorghum/soybeans, 13.5% wheat)

Railroad Miles:  94.62 main, 128.44 side

• Places with Railroad Service:  Elkhorn, Omaha, Ralston, Valley, Waterloo

Cattle Producers:  41

Crop Producers:  59

• Dryland Cash Rent (avg.):  $239/acre  2024

Dairy Producers:  1

Farmers Markets:

• Florence Mill Farmers Market (Omaha) (June - September, Sundays 10 AM - 3 PM)
• Gifford Park Neighborhood Market (Omaha) (June - September, Fridays 5 - 8 PM)
• Omaha Farmers Market in Aksarben Village (May - October, Sundays 9 AM - 1 PM (1st hour for seniors and those with underlying health issues))
• Omaha Farmers Market in the Old Market (May - October, Saturdays 8 AM - 12:30 PM (1st hour for seniors & people with underlying health issues))
• Omaha Night Market (May - September, Last Friday of the Month, 6 - 10 PM)
• Sunday Garden Mart (Omaha) (June - September, Sundays 9 AM - 12 PM (Goodwill donations only, proceeds go toward hunger relief))
• Village Pointe Farmers Market (May - October, Saturdays 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM)

Local Grain Market:  Click for today's grain prices in Douglas County

Electricity Providers:  Omaha PPD

• Nonfarm small business receipts are reported by partnerships and sole proprietorships. They do not include receipts reported by cooperative associations.
• Nonfarm wage income is reported based upon the wage earner's residential address; therefore, it also includes wages earned by Douglas County residents in other counties or states, but it excludes wages earned in Douglas County by residents of other counties or states.
• Nonfarm wage income excludes wages earned by anyone claimed as a dependent.
• Farm and ranch commodity sales receipts and operations receipts are reported based upon the farm or ranch owner's principal county of operations; therefore, those figures also include receipts reported by producers operating principally in Douglas County for their production in other counties or states, but the figures exclude receipts reported for production in Douglas County by producers operating principally in other counties or states.

Well Locations (Irrigation/Livestock), Soils, Groundwater & Surface Water

Total Irrigation/Livestock Wells:  393  2024

Surface Water Diversions (Irrigation):  1.20  2024

Surface Water Diversions (Irrigation):  56  2024

Click for real time:

Streamflow data on the Missouri River at Omaha

Streamflow data on Big Papillion Creek near Bennington

Streamflow data on Big Papillion Creek at Fort Street in Omaha

Streamflow data on Little Papillion Creek at Irvington

Streamflow data on Little Papillion Creek at Ak-Sar-Ben in Omaha

Streamflow data on Big Papillion Creek at Q Street in Omaha

Streamflow data on West Papillion Creek at Millard

Streamflow data on the Platte River near Leshara

Streamflow data on the Elkhorn River at Waterloo

Sources: National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA), Nebraska Cooperative Council, Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Nebraska Department of Revenue, Nebraska Department of Transportation, Nebraska Office of the CIO, Nebraska Power Review Board, Nebraska Public Service Commission, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of the Treasury (IRS), Warehouse and Commodity Management Division (USDA)

2023 Levies and Valuation

County levy rate: $0.2906 per $100 of taxable valuation

County property taxes levied: $188,610,399

Total local government property taxes levied: $1,433,294,489

Total countywide taxable valuation: $64,906,016,185

Federal PILT payment to Douglas County (FY2024): $10,108 regarding 3,019 federally-owned acres

Click here for all levy rates in Douglas County

County Levy and Taxation Laws

Levy limits

Since 1996, counties and other political subdivisions have been subject to levy limits under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-3442 and Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-3443.

Statutes and regulations

Nebraska Revised Statutes (Chapter 77)

Nebraska Administrative Code (Title 350)

Local tax reductions, exemptions, and credits:

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-902(5)(a) (Deed "stamp tax" exemption): "The [stamp tax] shall not apply to: ... (5)(a) Deeds between spouses, between ex-spouses for the purpose of conveying any rights to property acquired or held during the marriage, or between parent and child, without actual consideration therefor."

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-201(2) (Valuation of agricultural land and horticultural land): "Agricultural land and horticultural land as defined in section 77-1359 shall constitute a separate and distinct class of property for purposes of property taxation, shall be subject to taxation, unless expressly exempt from taxation, and shall be valued at seventy-five percent of its actual value, except that for school district taxes levied to pay the principal and interest on bonds that are approved by a vote of the people on or after January 1, 2022, such land shall be valued at fifty percent of its actual value."

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-6703(1) (Tax credit for school district taxes paid): "(1) For taxable years beginning or deemed to begin on or after January 1, 2020, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, there shall be allowed to each eligible taxpayer a refundable credit against the income tax imposed by the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 or against the franchise tax imposed by sections 77-3801 to 77-3807. The credit shall be equal to the credit percentage for the taxable year, as set by the department under subsection (2) of this section, multiplied by the amount of school district taxes paid by the eligible taxpayer during such taxable year."

Sources: Nebraska Department of Revenue

State Senator-Elect: Victor Rountree (District 3)

State Senator: Carol Blood (District 3)
Committees: Business and Labor, Judiciary, Urban Affairs

Map and statistics for Legislative District 3

State Senator: R. Brad Von Gillern (District 4)
Committees: Banking and Commerce, Revenue, Committee on Committees, Building Maintenance

Map and statistics for Legislative District 4

State Senator: Machaela Cavanaugh (District 6)
Committees: Health and Human Services, Transportation and Telecommunications, Legislative Performance Audit

Map and statistics for Legislative District 6

State Senator-Elect: Tim C. Pendrell (District 7)

State Senator: Tony Vargas (District 7)
Committees: Judiciary, Transportation and Telecommunications, State-Tribal Relations, Justice Reinvestment Oversight (LB605), Statewide Tourism And Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability (LB406)

Map and statistics for Legislative District 7

State Senator: Megan Hunt (District 8)
Committees: Business and Labor, Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs, Urban Affairs, Committee on Committees, State-Tribal Relations

Map and statistics for Legislative District 8

State Senator: John Cavanaugh (District 9)
Committees: General Affairs, Natural Resources, Urban Affairs, Midwestern Higher Education Compact Commission, Legislature's Planning Committee, Justice Reinvestment Oversight (LB605), Legislative Mental Health Care Capacity Strategic Planning Committee

Map and statistics for Legislative District 9

State Senator: Wendy DeBoer (District 10)
Committees: Judiciary, Transportation and Telecommunications, Rules, Legislature's Planning Committee, Nebraska Information Technology Commission

Map and statistics for Legislative District 10

State Senator: Terrell McKinney (District 11)
Committees: Business and Labor, Judiciary, Urban Affairs, Economic Recovery Special Committee, Legislative Mental Health Care Capacity Strategic Planning Committee

Map and statistics for Legislative District 11

State Senator: Merv Riepe (District 12)
Committees: Agriculture, Business and Labor, Health and Human Services, Executive Board

Map and statistics for Legislative District 12

State Senator-Elect: Ashlei Spivey (District 13)

State Senator: Justin Wayne (District 13)
Committees: Education, Judiciary, State-Tribal Relations, Justice Reinvestment Oversight (LB605), Economic Recovery Special Committee

Map and statistics for Legislative District 13

State Senator-Elect: Dave "Woody" Wordekemper

State Senator: Lynn Walz (District 15)
Committees: Education, Health and Human Services, Education Commission of the States, Midwestern Higher Education Compact Commission

Map and statistics for Legislative District 15

State Senator: Christy Armendariz (District 18)
Committees: Appropriations, Economic Recovery Special Committee, Legislative Mental Health Care Capacity Strategic Planning Committee

Map and statistics for Legislative District 18

State Senator: John Fredrickson (District 20)
Committees: Natural Resources, Transportation and Telecommunications, State Council for Interstate Juvenile Supervision

Map and statistics for Legislative District 20

State Senator: Kathleen Kauth (District 31)
Committees: Banking, Commerce and Insurance, Revenue, Education Commission of the States

Map and statistics for Legislative District 31

State Senator: Rick Holdcroft (District 36)
Committees: Agriculture, General Affairs, Judiciary, Legislature's Planning Committee, Justice Reinvestment Oversight (LB605), Statewide Tourism And Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability (LB406)

Map and statistics for Legislative District 36

State Senator-Elect: Tony Sorrentino

State Senator: Lou Ann Linehan (District 39)
Committees: Education, Revenue, Committee on Committees, Education Commission of the States, Streamlined Sales and Use Tax System

Map and statistics for Legislative District 39

Map of all districts in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature

Douglas County History

Number of Registered Historic Places: 191

Year Authorized: 1854

Year Organized: 1854

Etymology: Stephen Douglas (U.S. senator)

     Douglas County, one of Nebraska’s original eight counties, was established in 1855 and named after Stephen A. Douglas, the famous political rival of Abraham Lincoln. Douglas County covers an area of 340 square miles and has a population of over 500,000 people, making it the most populous county in the state.

     Originally, the area was inhabited by several Native American tribes, including the Pawnee, Omaha, and Otoe-Missouria. The Omaha tribe was the most prominent in the area, and its reluctant treaty with the United States in 1854 gave the United States a swath of land that stretched west from the eastern edge of the Missouri River to present-day Antelope County, and north from present-day Douglas County to Cedar County. 

     Omaha, the county seat, quickly became the region’s primary community, driven mainly by its proximity to the Missouri River, the Mormon Trail, and later, the railroads. The county’s growth would explode in subsequent decades as the area became a transportation, communication, and commerce hub due in large part to the region's stockyards and meatpacking plants, and the transcontinental railroad.

     Omaha was originally designated the state capital after a series of heated arguments and gubernatorial gerrymandering following Nebraska’s statehood in 1867.  In the years that followed, a bitter and violent feud erupted between the pro-Omaha and the anti-Omaha factions, which led to legislative filibustering, death threats, proposed secession to Kansas, and a physical assault on the Speaker of the House of the Nebraska Legislature. Finally, a commission resolved the issue by bestowing the state capital on a community southwest of Omaha with less than fifty residents: Lincoln. After absconding from Douglas County, the state capital would remain in Lincoln from then onward.

     Today, Douglas County has one of the most diverse economies in the Midwest. Several major manufacturing and service corporations are headquartered in the county, including insurance and telemarketing companies. Historical data shows that the county’s economy has consistently grown over the past several decades, which has kept its unemployment rate far below that of other communities its size.

Highlight an important program in your county in this space! Send an email to:

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Local Highlights

License Plate Number:  1

Time Zone:  Central

Number of Veterans:  30,231  2023

Zoned County:  Yes

County Hospital:  Douglas County Community Mental Health Center

Number of County-Owned Bridges:  81

Election Data

Voter Turnout:  75.40%  2024

Number of Registered Voters:  368,873  2024

Number of Precincts:  231  2022

Number of Election Day Polling Places:  212  2022

Land Area per Polling Place:  1.60 sq. miles

Intergovernmental Data

Emergency Mgt. Planning, Exercise and Training (PET) Region: Tri-County

Natural Resource District: Papio-Missouri River NRD

State Lands (acres): Two Rivers SRA (621.92 Douglas & Saunders), Two Rivers WMA (342 Douglas & Saunders), University of Nebraska-Omaha (685)

Sources: Nebraska Department of Transportation, Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, Nebraska Legislature, Nebraska Office of the CIO, Nebraska Secretary of State, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Election Assistance Commission, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (eCFR)