The Loss of People and Jobs to Other States Slows Nebraska’s Economic Growth.

OMAHA, Nebraska, September 9, 2025 — The Aksarben Foundation, a statewide Nebraska business organization for over 100 years, has released a report prepared by Development Counsellors International (DCI), a national expert in economic development marketing and strategy.  The data shows that the competition for people and jobs across the U.S. has resulted in Nebraska losing people and jobs to other states, slowing the growth of employment and wages.  Omaha’s economy has slowed to where it significantly lags its peers in terms of employment and wage growth. The data for the Lincoln, Nebraska market had very similar indicators to those of Omaha. Nebraska’s economy has slowed because of the lack of performance of Omaha’s and Lincoln’s economies. These two cities account for over 60% of the state’s tax revenue from income and sales taxes.

People are voting with their “feet,” and the primary reasons people leave a state include higher property taxes, higher income taxes, and the opportunity for a higher paying job in another state. “Fortunately for Nebraska, Governor Pillen and his staff have been working extremely hard since taking office to lower property taxes and lower income taxes through a wider sales tax base and more efficient government spending,” said Mike Cassling, Chairman of the Aksarben Board of Governors. “With few, if any exceptions, states with low property taxes, low to no income taxes, and a broader sales tax base are able to invest in their state’s economy and win the battle for people and jobs. States with higher property taxes, higher income taxes, and a narrow sales tax base are struggling to grow their economies. In many instances these states are also experiencing tax revenue shortfalls and consequently forced to spend their time cutting budgets rather than investing in the state’s economic future,” Cassling said.  

Every job Nebraska loses today is one less job available to employ the next generation of Nebraskans. “Aksarben has been working on the challenges facing Nebraska’s workforce since 2017. Aksarben commissioned this work by DCI and is releasing it because we care so deeply about the future of Nebraska,” Cassling said. “Nebraska is a great place to live, and we as business leaders, legislators, economic organizations, municipalities and community leaders can achieve what is necessary to ensure our state’s economic future.”

To put the consequences of these lagging economics in current terms, Nebraska’s two largest metro areas, Omaha and Lincoln, have lagged 68,000 jobs behind where they would be had they kept pace with peer markets, including Fayetteville, Arkansas, Huntsville, Alabama, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, among others.  These 68,000 jobs would have produced over $11 Billion in additional wages and resulted in between $600 Million and $800 Million in additional tax revenue for the State of Nebraska.  Notably, that additional tax revenue would provide significant relief to the current deficit position being dealt with by the State.  If Omaha and Lincoln grow at rates commensurate with their peers, it will drive lower property taxes and income taxes and provide funding to benefit Nebraskans in all 93 counties.

Why are people and jobs leaving Nebraska? “I love Nebraska and Omaha, which played an instrumental factor in starting and headquartering Signature Performance here in 2004 with less than 10 employees,” said Allen Fredrickson, Founder and CEO of Signature Performance. “Today we have nearly 1,500 employees with over 500 based in Nebraska.   I have always been committed to growing our company in Nebraska, but given the declining talent pool due to “brain drain,” we have had to expand our workforce outside the state to meet our growing business needs.  We expect to add 1,000 more jobs in the coming years and we hope that the vast majority of those jobs will be filled right here in Nebraska. The opportunity is real: if the talent pool can be expanded in Nebraska, then we can fill and retain more jobs for the state’s future workforce,” Fredrickson said.

“I chaired the Omaha Chamber in 2022 and during that time talked to over 50 CEOs about the growth of their businesses and found the Signature Performance circumstance to be common among a lot of them,” said Mickey Anderson, CEO of Baxter Auto Group. “In many instances, the shrinking talent pool required companies to engage a search firm and provide a relocation package to find and relocate candidates to Nebraska at a cost of approximately $40,000 per hired employee. As the recruiting time and hiring costs became too prohibitive for many companies, the solution shifted to locating jobs outside of the state at far less hiring costs,” Anderson said.

"The competition for jobs has become fierce as states and cities increasingly offer incentives to attract jobs,” said Jay Noddle, CEO of Noddle Companies. “Unfortunately, while Omaha has so much to offer, the community has been losing the battle for jobs and people to other states. The lack of employment growth in Omaha has dramatically impacted the demand for commercial real estate," Noddle said.

“The competition for talented workers has resulted in Nebraska losing its educated workforce to other states every year for over a decade,” said Dana Bradford, CEO of C3 Brands and former chairman of the Omaha Chamber, MECA, and Aksarben Foundation. “The lack of growth in jobs, workforce, and related wages has effectively stagnated the economy in terms of real economic growth and, as a result, is negatively impacting local businesses and restaurants,” Bradford said.

“Our economic development marketing firm has advised clients in more than 400 cities, states, regions and countries globally on the factors most impacting corporate and talent relocation decisions,” said Julie Curtin, President Economic Development for Development Counsellors International. “From our extensive research on how location decisions are made, we know that “brain drain” is a primary consideration for companies determining where to locate jobs and grow employment.  With few exceptions, companies will locate and grow employment where “brain gain” exists,” Curtin said.

“I and others have met with leaders from across the state and believe we can get Nebraska’s economy on track and prospering,” Cassling said. “It is imperative that Nebraska’s leaders work together to produce a business environment that includes a competitive tax structure, with both low income and property taxes, investments in economic incentives for talent attraction and retention, and a comprehensive campaign marketing the virtues of living and doing business in Nebraska,” he said.  “The Aksarben Foundation pledges to stay involved in this process and commit time and resources toward improving the economic wellbeing for all Nebraskans.”