Nebraska doesn’t always get a lot of national attention.
We’re not exactly known for bragging about ourselves, either.
But every once in a while, the rest of the country catches on to something those of us who spend a lot of time living in Nebraska already know:
Nebraska is a pretty great place to call home.
U.S. News & World Report released its Best States rankings, and Nebraska came in at #5 in the nation.
That’s not #5 in the Midwest.
Not #5 for agriculture.
#5 out of all 50 states.
The rankings evaluate states across categories including education, health care, the economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and the natural environment.
Nebraska performed especially well in several areas, including a #3 ranking for infrastructure and #8 for fiscal stability.
But rankings and statistics only tell part of the story.
If you’re thinking about moving here — especially to the Omaha metro — let’s talk about what living in Nebraska actually looks like.
Table of Contents
Nebraska Is #3 in the Nation for Infrastructure
Infrastructure probably isn’t the first thing anyone gets excited about when they’re choosing where to live.
Until you live somewhere with bad infrastructure.
For people living in Nebraska, particularly around Omaha, that central location has another perk: it’s surprisingly easy to go places.
Kansas City is a few hours south. Des Moines is an easy drive. And I-80 gives you a nearly straight shot east across Iowa to places like the Quad Cities.
The photo below was taken in Rapids City, Illinois, a small town along the Mississippi River just outside the Quad Cities. From Omaha, you can basically get on I-80 and keep going until you’re almost there.
That’s one reason we’ve put together an entire guide to some of our favorite Midwest road trips from Omaha. Living in Nebraska puts a surprising number of destinations within an easy weekend drive.
🛣️ Midwest Road Trips from Omaha
And when you want to go farther? Omaha’s Eppley Airfield is right here, too.
Living in Nebraska Puts Opportunity Within Reach
Nebraska also scored well nationally for both opportunity and the economy.
But “opportunity” is about more than employment statistics.
It’s also about whether you can build the kind of life you want somewhere.
The Omaha metro gives you everything from established neighborhoods and historic homes to new construction, acreage communities, lake neighborhoods and growing suburbs like Papillion, Gretna and Springfield.
Military families stationed at Offutt Air Force Base have access to communities throughout Sarpy County and the greater Omaha area, while people who work downtown can still live in communities that feel decidedly suburban — or even rural — without moving hours away from the city.
That’s one of the things we try to show in our local community and real estate guides.
There isn’t really one version of living in Nebraska.
You can find the neighborhood and lifestyle that work for you.
Yes, There Are Actually Things to Do Here
Here’s where Nebraska may suffer from a bit of a marketing problem.
People who have never spent much time here tend to picture corn.
Lots and lots of corn.
And, to be fair, we do have corn.
But if you’re considering living in Nebraska, particularly in the Omaha area, you might be surprised by just how much there is to do here.
Start with Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. It’s one of the city’s signature attractions, with everything from the world’s largest indoor desert to an indoor rainforest, aquarium and African Grasslands. It’s the kind of place locals don’t just visit once on vacation — plenty of families have memberships and go back throughout the year.
Just down the road, Lauritzen Gardens gives you 100 acres of botanical gardens to explore, with seasonal displays, walking paths, indoor conservatories and events throughout the year.
And you don’t have to travel far outside the city to completely change the scenery.
At Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, you can walk wooded trails and boardwalks overlooking the Missouri River floodplain. Head a little farther out and you’ll find places like Mahoney State Park, Platte River State Park and Louisville State Recreation Area for hiking, camping, fishing and weekends outside.
Caption: Nebraska isn’t quite as flat as its reputation would have you believe. Views like this are waiting at Mahoney State Park.
There are miles of biking and walking trails throughout eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, lakes for boating and fishing, and plenty of places where you can spend a summer afternoon outside without driving halfway across the state.
🏕️ Camping Near Omaha | Lake Guide
Then there are the things that become part of the local calendar.
Fall means pumpkin patches and places like Vala’s Pumpkin Patch & Apple Orchard. Summer brings outdoor concerts, festivals, baseball and the College World Series. Throughout the year you’ll find live music, community events, farmers markets and plenty of things to do that don’t cost anything at all.
Fall in the Omaha metro practically comes with a mandatory trip to the pumpkin patch.
👍 Free Things to Do Around Omaha | Live Music Guide
And that’s really the point.
Living in Nebraska doesn’t mean giving up things to do in exchange for a quieter lifestyle. Around Omaha, you can have both.
You can spend Saturday morning at the zoo, hike through a forest in the afternoon, catch live music that night and be sitting beside a campfire the next evening.
And if you’ve followed our Midwest Will Move You series, you already know how we feel about the term “flyover country.”
Go ahead and fly over.
We’ll stay down here enjoying it.
There’s also something Omaha does remarkably well: we commit to a holiday.
And not just a little.
The Fourth of July can feel like the entire metro has collectively decided to put on a fireworks show. Neighborhood displays start well before the holiday itself, community celebrations happen throughout the area, and on the Fourth, you don’t necessarily need tickets to a professional show. Depending on where you live, you may have a pretty impressive one happening right outside your front door.
🎆 Your Complete Guide to Independence Day in Omaha
Then fall arrives, and Omaha goes all in again.
Pumpkin patches are just the beginning. There are haunted houses, trick-or-treat events, decorated neighborhoods, fall festivals and Halloween activities throughout the metro. We’ve put together an entire guide that we update every year for Halloween in Omaha because there are simply too many options to squeeze into one recommendation.
And then there’s Christmas.
If you’ve never driven around Omaha in December, this one may be hard to explain.
People here decorate.
A lot.
There are neighborhoods where homeowners coordinate displays, houses that become destinations in their own right, massive synchronized light shows and enough impressive Christmas displays around the metro that we’ve created a whole yearly guide just to help people find them.
🎄 Omaha Christmas Lights Guide
It’s one of those things that’s hard to appreciate until you’ve experienced it. Omaha doesn’t just have holiday events on the calendar. Entire neighborhoods get involved.
And that’s really the point.
Living in Nebraska doesn’t mean giving up things to do in exchange for a quieter lifestyle. Around Omaha, you can have both.
You can spend Saturday morning at the zoo, hike through a forest in the afternoon, catch live music that night and be sitting beside a campfire the next evening.
And depending on the time of year, you might also find half the metro setting off fireworks, building haunted attractions or covering their houses in enough Christmas lights to be visible from space.
Maybe that’s one of the things national rankings can’t quite measure.
But it’s definitely part of living here.
Living in Nebraska: Small Towns, Growing Suburbs and a Real City
One of Nebraska’s strengths is that you don’t have to choose between living in the middle of nowhere and living in a huge metropolitan area.
Omaha gives you restaurants, entertainment, arts, sports, universities, major employers and an airport.
Drive outward and the landscape changes quickly.
Papillion and Gretna are growing communities with plenty of new development.
Bellevue has history, established neighborhoods and Offutt Air Force Base.
Springfield gives you small-town Nebraska within easy reach of the metro.
Keep driving and you’ll find the small towns, farms and wide-open spaces Nebraska is famous for.
That’s a lot of different lifestyles packed into a relatively small radius — and it’s one of the things people sometimes don’t realize about living in Nebraska until they’re actually here.
The Stuff the Rankings Can’t Really Measure
Of course, there are some things that are harder to capture in a national ranking. Part of what makes living in Nebraska so great is simply the sense of community here.
It’s Friday night football games, farmers markets, Husker Saturdays and the College World Series taking over Omaha every June. It’s local businesses where people actually get to know you and neighbors who show up when somebody needs a hand.
You’ll see it in the way people support local causes, too. Veterans organizations, community fundraisers and events like the 50 Mile March bring thousands of Nebraskans together every year to support people in their own communities.
Those things probably aren’t going to earn Nebraska any extra points in a U.S. News ranking, but they’re a pretty big part of why so many of us like living here.
🚶♀️ What the 50 Mile March for Veterans Really Looks Like
It’s being able to drive 20 minutes and feel like you’re out of the city — or drive 20 minutes the other direction and have everything you need.
Those things don’t necessarily show up in a national ranking.
But they’re a pretty big part of why people stay.
Thinking About Moving to Nebraska?
We’re obviously a little biased.
But apparently U.S. News & World Report agrees with us.
Nebraska is the #5 Best State in America, with particularly strong rankings for infrastructure, fiscal stability, education, natural environment, opportunity and the economy.
More importantly, living in Nebraska gives you something that’s difficult to capture in a national ranking: options.
City or small town.
New construction or an established neighborhood.
Acreage or lake living.
A night downtown or a weekend around a campfire.
If you’re considering moving to the Omaha area, take some time to explore our community and relocation guides. We’ve spent a lot of time showing people what life here actually looks like — from neighborhoods and real estate to road trips, local businesses and things to do.
And if you’re ready to start looking for a home, get in touch.
We’ll help you find your little piece of the fifth-best state in America.
