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Ameritrade. The Union Pacific
Corporation, operator of the largest
rail network in the United States, is
also headquartered here.
The People
Nebraska is even less densely populat-
ed than Kansas. On average, there are
fewer than 24 people per square mile
in the state. The U.S. Census counted
1,826,341 Cornhuskers in 2010, put-
ting the state in 38th place for popula-
tion. Over 50 percent of this popula-
tion is clustered in just three eastern
counties: Douglas, Lancaster, and
Sarpy counties. Roughly one out of
every three Nebraskans lives in
Omaha and Lincoln, the state’s two
biggest cities.
Omaha is Nebraska’s most diverse
city. African Americans make up 13.7
percent of the city’s population. That’s
slightly higher than the national aver-
age and almost three times greater
than Nebraska’s overall percentage.
The city also has a sizable Mexican
presence, and it is home to the
nation’s largest population of
Sudanese refugees.
The rest of the state is significantly
less diverse than both Omaha and the
nation as a whole. According to the
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Lower Plains: Kansas, Nebraska
Reconnaissance aircraft are
parked on the flightline at Offutt
Air Force Base near Omaha,
Nebraska. The base, named for
a World War I-era pilot from
Nebraska, is home to the U.S.
Strategic Command, which is
responsible for using nuclear
weapons in war when ordered
by the president.