2018 Omaha Economic Development

[Coyote]

The Top Metros in the nation know how to bring in the projects, and crave the talent to keep that pipeline flowing.

Greater Omaha: Finance & Insurance, Data Centers and Record Low Unemployment

It’s always a good sign when your local chamber of commerce’s online resources includes a section titled “Groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting tips.” That’s what you’ll find at the Greater Omaha Chamber, the flagship group for the metro area ranked No. 1 in its population tier once again this year, followed by Dayton-Kettering, Ohio, at No. 2 and Des Moines-West Des Moines at No. 3.

The Greater Omaha Chamber's 2018 Economic Outlook Survey of 147 area CEOs found that around 60 percent said that their sales revenue increased in 2018, compared to 2017, and around 40 percent said their companies expect to increase the amount of capital investment and employment. Just under half expect to increase the number of employees in their company in 2019, and more than one-third (38 percent) plan to invest more capital in 2019 than 2018.

Judging by last year’s project count, that’s saying something, as Site Selection tallied major investments in metro Omaha from Facebook, MetLife, Mutual of Omaha, Yahoo, Elliott Equipment and VM Innovations. Some of the investors in Omaha and in No. 4 Tier-2 metro Lincoln are seeing support from five Nebraska Business Innovation Act programs that first went into effect after the 2011 session of the Nebraska Legislature and are designed to promote successful entrepreneurial firms by providing access to capital in early stages of product development.

image.jpeg