Skip to content
Beacon CRE

Which counties in Nebraska are adding jobs fastest?

Thurston County (+57.2%), Pawnee County (+54.2%) and Sheridan County (+26.9%) added private-sector jobs fastest in Nebraska between 2018 and 2023.

Data as of 2023 · updated

See the rankingAll Nebraska counties

Want Pro for Nebraska? Get notified

All 80 ranked Nebraska counties

Nebraska counties ranked by private-sector job growth
RankCountyChange 2018–23Private jobs 2023Residents
1Thurston County+57.2%2,6876,752
2Pawnee County+54.2%6912,510
3Sheridan County+26.9%1,1714,809
4Gosper County+22.1%2431,803
5Boone County+17.8%1,7075,355
6Morrill County+14.9%8264,404
7Greeley County+14.0%3822,154
8Hall County+13.6%35,52663,633
9Colfax County+13.4%4,55510,934
10Franklin County+10.8%4302,795
11Saunders County+10.0%4,39723,702
12Lancaster County+9.5%157,274334,049
13Red Willow County+9.0%3,84810,307
14Madison County+8.8%19,64136,106
15Sarpy County+8.6%62,801208,303
16Cass County+8.2%4,68727,657
17Douglas County+8.0%339,929606,460
18Pierce County+7.9%1,6307,378
19Dawson County+6.8%9,57724,452
20Otoe County+5.6%5,04116,531
21Merrick County+5.5%1,7667,905
22Rock County+5.1%3501,259
23Kimball County+4.8%1,0453,391
24Garfield County+2.9%6311,710
25Fillmore County+2.9%1,7415,458
26Furnas County+2.8%1,2294,524
27Stanton County+1.8%9795,744
28Burt County+1.5%1,1376,678
29Washington County+1.4%6,30721,302
30Chase County+1.4%1,1093,718
31Webster County+1.3%6193,336
32Buffalo County+1.3%23,42351,172
33Cedar County+1.2%1,8738,373
34Dakota County+0.7%12,03421,687
35Dixon County+0.7%1,1715,602
36Nuckolls County+0.5%1,1364,100
37Nance County+0.0%4503,290
38Cuming County−0.2%2,8048,823
39Custer County−0.2%3,11910,500
40Butler County−0.3%1,9678,507
41Wayne County−0.3%3,38210,020
42York County−0.6%6,53014,564
43Dundy County−0.9%3411,568
44Scotts Bluff County−0.9%12,82235,586
45Kearney County−0.9%1,6276,790
46Hitchcock County−1.5%3912,467
47Hamilton County−1.8%3,1669,678
48Phelps County−2.8%4,1478,994
49Thayer County−3.3%1,8594,842
50Adams County−3.9%12,92631,071
51Seward County−4.0%5,43418,032
52Richardson County−4.1%1,6967,530
53Antelope County−4.3%1,5236,352
54Clay County−4.6%1,0626,170
55Gage County−4.6%6,83521,711
56Cherry County−4.8%1,4925,561
57Valley County−4.9%1,2304,094
58Lincoln County−5.0%11,42133,303
59Dawes County−5.7%2,0157,858
60Jefferson County−5.7%2,4357,070
61Platte County−5.7%15,80835,649
62Keith County−6.0%2,4708,100
63Holt County−6.5%3,13910,067
64Harlan County−6.7%6273,000
65Dodge County−6.7%15,29138,057
66Perkins County−8.1%8192,849
67Boyd County−8.3%4331,674
68Box Butte County−8.5%2,69910,494
69Howard County−8.8%1,0766,538
70Saline County−9.9%5,37514,996
71Brown County−12.7%8442,826
72Nemaha County−12.8%1,3467,102
73Polk County−13.5%8065,270
74Deuel County−16.0%2571,862
75Frontier County−16.3%3842,655
76Johnson County−17.7%7525,218
77Knox County−18.2%1,4598,335
78Sherman County−23.3%4942,924
79Cheyenne County−30.2%3,1719,528
80Garden County−37.0%1551,804

13 of 93 Nebraska counties are not ranked on this measure.

How this is ranked

The change in paid employees of private employers in mid-March between 2018 and 2023 (Census Bureau County Business Patterns). Government jobs and the self-employed are not counted. Counties with fewer than 1,000 residents, or without a figure for the same period as the others, are not ranked.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns. Figures come from public federal statistics and are informational only, not investment advice. Check the source before relying on a number. Methodology: how ranks and figures are built. More on every layer: data sources and licences.

Nebraska county data pack: every county, every measure

All 93 Nebraska counties in an Excel workbook and CSV: the federal measures behind our county reports, each county's state and U.S. ranks, and every yearly figure we load, with a source and period for each. Pay once, no subscription.

What's in it

Use the figures inside your organisation and in your own publications, presentations and website; please credit Beacon CRE / the federal sources. Please don't resell or share the files themselves. Terms.

Get the report for any Nebraska county — $99

The County Growth and Demographics Report for any county as a PDF, from federal data: population and migration, housing and rents, permits, private employers and jobs, unemployment, ranks in the state and the country, and neighbouring counties, with a source next to every number. Pay once, no subscription.

Choose a county — $99

Every purchase also includes a CSV of every table in the report, ready for a spreadsheet. See a sample CSV.

Includes the next update: free updates for 12 months. When the data changes, your report download link serves the new edition.

Refund terms: Terms. · How we compute every number

Questions

Which county in Nebraska has the fastest job growth?

Thurston County: +57.2%, ahead of Pawnee County (+54.2%) and Sheridan County (+26.9%), of 80 Nebraska counties ranked.

How is this ranking calculated?

The change in paid employees of private employers in mid-March between 2018 and 2023 (Census Bureau County Business Patterns). Government jobs and the self-employed are not counted. Counties with fewer than 1,000 residents, or without a figure for the same period as the others, are not ranked.

More county rankings for Nebraska

Private-sector job growth in other states

Across the U.S.