The Omaha metropolitan area finally surpassed the 1 million population mark, a long-anticipated milestone. The official population is now 1,001,010 people.
The U.S. Census Bureau last week released population estimates – as of July 1, 2024 – for every county in the nation. Once you know each county’s population, you subsequently know metro area populations. That’s because each Metropolitan Statistical Area is comprised of counties as determined by the Census Bureau. Altogether, the United States has several hundred metro areas.
The Omaha Metropolitan Statistical Area is a two-state region consisting of five counties in Nebraska (Douglas, Sarpy, Washington, Cass and Saunders) and three in Iowa (Pottawattamie, Harrison and Mills).
Omaha’s 2024 population of 1,001,010 is an increase of 12,144 from the previous year’s official estimate of 988,866. That’s a growth rate of 1.23 percent, which is certainly respectable. Since the 2020 census, the Omaha metro area has grown by 3.45 percent.
Omaha is now the nation’s 55th largest metro area, bigger than Honolulu, New Orleans and Albuquerque to name a few.
Both natural change and net migration contributed to our increase in population. Specifically, births outpaced the number of deaths by 4,269. Additionally, there was a net positive of 6,548 due to international migration and 1,329 from domestic migration.
Breaking the metro down by state, 878,138 people live on the Nebraska side and 122,872 on the Iowa side. Douglas County’s population is now 601,158. Sarpy County has 204,828. Pottawattamie County has 93,529.
The state of Nebraska’s 2024 population is 2,005,465. Interestingly, 40 percent of Nebraska’s population lives in Douglas and Sarpy Counties, which are the state’s two smallest counties by land mass. Nebraska has a total of 93 counties. Douglas County alone accounts for 30 percent of Nebraska’s population.
The five largest metropolitan areas in the United States are New York (19,940,274 population in 2024), Los Angeles (12,927,614), Chicago (9,408,576), Dallas-Fort Worth (8,344,032) and Houston (7,796,182).
Here are the just-released 2024 population stats for the eight counties that make up the Omaha metropolitan statistical area (from most to least populated). The percentage growth rate is for one year from 2023 to 2024:
Douglas (NE) = 601,158 up 7,513 from 593,645 in 2023 (+1.3%)
Sarpy (NE) = 204,828 up 4,351 from 200,477 in 2023 (+2.17%)
Pottawattamie (IA) = 93,529 up 176 from 93,353 in 2023 (+0.19%)
Cass (NE) = 27,492 up 34 from 27,458 in 2023 (+0.12%)
Saunders (NE) = 23,406 down 65 from 23,471 in 2023 (-0.28%)
Washington (NE) = 21,254 up 72 from 21,182 in 2023 (+0.34%)
Mills (IA) = 14,717 up 75 from 14,642 in 2023 (+0.51%)
Harrison (IA) = 14,626 down 12 from 14,638 in 2023 (-0.08%)
The Iowa side of the metro is currently acting as a drag on the total metro area growth rate. The three rural counties on the Nebraska side (Cass, Saunders and Washington) are also underperforming.
Here are the top metro areas in Nebraska with national rank followed by 2024 population and increase since 2020:
Omaha (#55) – 1,001,010 (+3.45%)
Lincoln (#158) – 350,626 (+3.06%)
South Sioux City/Sioux City (#295) – 145,994 (+1.15%)
Grand Island (#381) – 77,278 (+0.31%)
Here are selected regional cities with national rank, 2024 population and increase since 2020:
Minneapolis/St. Paul (#16) – 3,757,952 (+1.83%)
Denver (#19) – 3,052,498 (+2.99%)
St. Louis (#23) – 2,811,927 (-0.30%)
Kansas City (#31) – 2,253,579 (+2.81)
Omaha (#55) – 1,001,010 (+3.45%)
Colorado Springs (#79) – 777,634 (+2.98%)
Des Moines (#82) – 753,913 (+6.26%)
Wichita (#89) – 661,217 (+2.10%)
Quad Cities (#148) – 381,801 (-0.66%)
Ft. Collins, Colo. (#149) – 374,574 (+4.32%)
Lincoln (#158) – 350,626 (+3.06%)
Sioux Falls (#170) – 308,266 (+7.62%)
Photo above by Brad Williams
