How many people are employed in Nebraska?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Nebraska has 897,981 employees across 55,432 business establishments in 627 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in Nebraska?

The largest industries in Nebraska by employment are Temporary Help Services (43,428), General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (40,956), and Limited-Service Restaurants (30,303).

What is the average payroll in Nebraska?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Nebraska. The highest-paying tracked industry is Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) at $139,917/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in Nebraska?

Nebraska has 55,432 business establishments across 627 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · NE · Census CBP 2023

Nebraska Industry Benchmarks

Name: Nebraska Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Employment, establishments, and payroll for 627 industries in Nebraska. Drill into any industry for a Nebraska-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

898K
Workers: 55K
Establishments: 627
Industries tracked

Data updated August 2026

The verdict · Nebraska

Nebraska employs 897,981 workers across 627 tracked industries, led by Temporary Help Services (43,428 workers).

No single sector dominates Nebraska (lead 16%; top-three 40%). Margins stay on national industry pages.

Nebraska sector employment mix

Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.

Nebraska private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

Nebraska spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Health Care and Social Assistance, is only 16% of 897,981 private-sector workers (about the 29th percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.

NE breadth ledger · HHI 0.093
Sector	Workers	Share
Health Care and Social Assistance (62)	143,276	16%
Retail Trade (44)	110,079	12%
Manufacturing (31)	104,418	12%
Top-three cumulative 40% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates.

Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.

Census CBP firm roll

County Business Patterns NE DISTRIBUTED · CBP

#36/51 · 897,981 workers · 55,432 firms

EMP 897,981
EST 55,432
RANK #36/51
PCT 29th pct
LEAD Health Care and Soci…
SHARE 16% lead
BAND distributed
DENS 16.2 /firm
BOOK 627 NAICS
PHOTO Mississippi

Nearest employment-scale peer: Mississippi (955,942 workers)

According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Nebraska ranks #36 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
Temporary Help Services NAICS 561320	43,428	211	$2.9B	$67,446/yr
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals NAICS 622110	40,956	96	$3.0B	$74,115/yr
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	30,303	1,517	$578.6M	$19,093/yr
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	27,515	1,438	$627.0M	$22,788/yr
Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices NAICS 551114	23,669	264	$2.0B	$85,571/yr
Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores NAICS 445110	21,622	422	$449.7M	$20,799/yr
Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) NAICS 621111	14,642	785	$1.7B	$113,618/yr
Religious Organizations NAICS 813110	12,193	1,561	$308.8M	$25,329/yr
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) NAICS 623110	12,014	154	$455.6M	$37,923/yr
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	9,947	837	$706.6M	$71,034/yr
Child Day Care Services NAICS 624410	9,534	739	$222.6M	$23,351/yr
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors NAICS 238210	8,766	668	$568.0M	$64,794/yr
Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores NAICS 447110	8,587	827	$239.4M	$27,878/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	7,990	198	$571.2M	$71,487/yr
Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Carriers NAICS 524126	7,921	150	N/A	N/A
Employment Placement Agencies NAICS 561311	7,775	65	N/A	N/A
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	7,264	434	$188.6M	$25,970/yr
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars NAICS 722515	6,850	498	$112.7M	$16,447/yr
Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities NAICS 624120	6,836	252	$179.2M	$26,220/yr
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages NAICS 524210	6,715	1,545	$510.6M	$76,042/yr

Breadth peers near Nebraska's private employment

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (897,981 in Nebraska), excluding NE.

Mississippi 955,942 Arkansas 1,072,827 Idaho 686,709 New Mexico 628,423 Kansas 1,248,825 Maine 545,965 West Virginia 537,890 New Hampshire 533,259

Disclaimer: Nebraska (NE) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about Nebraska businesses.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · NE

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for Nebraska (NE). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →