COMMUNITY PROFILE: A VIBRANT PLACE TO CALL HOME

The United Way of the Midlands’ footprint encompasses the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro, a vibrant multi-state community with Midwestern charm. UWM’s primary service area includes Douglas, Washington, Sarpy, Cass and Saunders counties in Nebraska and Pottawattamie, Mills and Harrison in Iowa. Additionally, UWM maintains a broad statewide perspective by offering the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) programming in 34 programs across the state of Nebraska. With JAG Nebraska’s planned growth for next year, we will have the capacity to serve 5,000 students, with concentrated expansion efforts throughout central and western Nebraska. UWM’s statewide presence is further enhanced through 211 which operates 24/7/365 across Nebraska, and recently became the call center hub for all of Iowa in July 2023.

UWM Primary Investment Area Omaha-Council Bluffs Metro

Statewide in NE

Statewide in NE and ia

A Growing and Diverse Population

With nearly 970,000 people calling the Omaha-Council Bluffs area home, the population ranks in the top 60 in America. With a growing population inching toward the Top 50 metro areas in the country, leading demographers expect the metro area population to surpass one million residents in 2024. While about 3 of 4 residents in the area identify as White, non-Hispanic, the metro area is also becoming more diverse. The White, non-Hispanic population has decreased steadily over the last five years from 79% to around 75%. Increases in the percentage of Hispanic, multi-racial and other populations is driving this trend. The nationwide growth of the senior population is a well-documented demographic trend, driven by the retirement of the baby boomer cohort and their transition into their later life stages. Seniors reflect only 14% of the local population but it is projected to increase five times more than other age groups by 2035. For more analysis on this trend, read Seniors in the Metro.

Demographics: race, age and Gender breakdown of the omaha-council bluffs metro

White	Hispanic	Black	Other	Multi-Racial
74.2%	11.3%	7.3%	3.4%	3.7%

Under 5	Under 18	65+
6.7%	25.3%	14.2%

metro area population
has grown

Over the last 10 years

0 %

Social and Economic Disparities

It’s been 58 years since President Johnson launched a war on poverty in response to a national poverty rate around 19 percent. And while the U.S. poverty rate is now much lower, there is still work to be done. In the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area, the poverty rate of 9.5% is well below the U.S. poverty rate of 12.5%. But there’s another story about poverty that’s often missed – poverty has been on a fairly steady decline both locally and nationally for the last 10 years. For instance, in 2013 the poverty rate in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro was 12.1% or roughly three percentage points higher than it is today.

Poverty rates among the area’s Black and Hispanic populations have seen even steeper declines. As shown below, these poverty rates have significantly declined over the last 10 years and are relatively consistent with the U.S. average. These decreases reflect positive signals about the strength of our economy, as well as the intentional efforts from local organizations to reduce disparities among Black, Indigenous and people of color.

Poverty Among Black and African American Metro vs. U.S.

Poverty Among Hispanic/Latino Metro vs. U.S.

However, disparities remain. Poverty among our BIPOC populations is nearly twice the local average. For instance, whereas the overall poverty rate in our metro is 9.5% the poverty rate among African Americans is 21.5% and among Hispanics is 17.2%. The disparities in poverty are also reflected in the disparity of median household earnings among various populations. While the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro earnings are several thousand dollars over the U.S. average, Black households earn less than 60% of their white counterparts.

Legend

United States

Omaha-Council Bluffs Metro

While the poverty rate has decreased overall, it remains highly concentrated in east Omaha and is spreading west. In 2000, there were zero tracts west of 72nd Street over 20% poverty – now there are five. Furthermore, there were only 27 tracts in total with poverty over 20% – now there are 50.

While poverty is highest in east Omaha, it is spreading west of 72nd Street

Percentage of People Living in Poverty by Census Tracts

*Compiled by David Drozd, Community Health Development Partners

Poverty Rates of 0% to 9.9%	Poverty Rates of 10% to 19.9%	Poverty Rates of 20% to 51.1%
50	33	73

Nebraskans work, but we also have among the highest working poor in the country – well above the national average

Nebraska has a high quality of life, with low unemployment and among the highest labor participation rates in the country across demographic categories. This helps to shatter some dangerous narratives and reinforces the hardships faced by many individuals working, but struggling to make ends meet.

In fact, data from the U.S. Census shows nearly 70% of households in poverty in our metro include at least one worker. Researchers often refer to this data point as a measure of a community’s working poor population. And the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro ranks among the highest when it comes to this metric. In other words, we have more working families living in poverty here than almost anywhere else in the country. It’s not a new trend, as the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro has ranked among the highest in the country in this metric over at least the last 10 years.