Omaha Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Douglas County · County seat · Population 486,051 (2020 census) · ZIP 68102 · Founded 1854

About Omaha

Omaha, the seat of Douglas County, is Nebraska's largest city, with 486,051 people at the 2020 census and a metro area of about a million. It lies on the west bank of the Missouri River across from Council Bluffs, Iowa. Berkshire Hathaway, Union Pacific, Kiewit and Mutual of Omaha have their headquarters here; Creighton University, the University of Nebraska Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center are among its colleges; and the Henry Doorly Zoo, the Old Market and The RiverFront draw visitors year round. Each June the city hosts the Men's College World Series.

History

Speculators from Council Bluffs founded Omaha in 1854 and named it for the Omaha people; the name is usually translated "upstream people." Alfred D. Jones platted 320 blocks that year, the first territorial legislature met here on January 18, 1855, and Omaha was the territorial capital until 1867. It incorporated in 1857. In 1863 President Lincoln fixed the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific at Omaha; track-laying west was under way by 1865–66, and the first train crossed the railroad's Missouri River bridge in 1872.

The Union Stockyards opened in South Omaha in 1883–84, and in 1955 Omaha passed Chicago as the nation's largest livestock market; the yards closed in 1999. The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition ran from June 1 to October 31, 1898. Omaha annexed South Omaha and Dundee in 1915, Benson and Florence in 1917, Millard in 1971 and Elkhorn in 2005–07. The Easter Sunday tornado of March 23, 1913, killed 94 people in the city; in 1919 a mob burned the courthouse and lynched Will Brown; and the tornado of May 6, 1975, was then the costliest in U.S. history. Father Edward J. Flanagan opened his home for boys here in 1917, the start of Boys Town. Fred Astaire, Gerald R. Ford, Malcolm X, Marlon Brando, Bob Gibson and Warren Buffett are among the city's natives.

Highways and trails through Omaha

Route	One way	Other way
I-80Across south-central Omaha	East to downtown and across the Missouri to Council Bluffs	Southwest to Lincoln (about 50 mi)
I-480 and I-680Downtown loop and western/northern beltway	I-480 (with US 6) crosses to Council Bluffs on the Grenville Dodge Memorial Bridge	I-680 circles west Omaha and crosses the Mormon Bridge north of Florence
US 6Dodge St. and the West Dodge Expressway	East through downtown to I-480	West past Boys Town to Elkhorn
US 75Kennedy Freeway, North Freeway and 30th St.	North through Florence toward Fort Calhoun and Blair	South to Bellevue
US 275 and NE 92Together on West Center Rd., Industrial Rd., L St. and Missouri Ave.	East to the South Omaha bridge to Iowa	West to Waterloo, Valley and Fremont

Nearby towns

Florence	about 6 mi north-northwest	US 75
Ralston	about 6 mi southwest	US 275
Bellevue	about 7 mi south	US 75
La Vista	about 7 mi southwest	I-80
Papillion	about 9 mi southwest	I-80
Boys Town	about 10 mi west	US 6
Fort Calhoun	about 14 mi north-northwest	US 75
Bennington	about 14 mi west-northwest	NE 36
Elkhorn	about 16 mi west	US 6
Lincoln	about 50 mi southwest	I-80

Things to see

Downtown and the riverfront: the Old Market, brick streets of former warehouses with restaurants and galleries (National Register) · The RiverFront: Gene Leahy Mall, Heartland of America Park and Lewis & Clark Landing, 72 acres of free parks (5 a.m.–11 p.m.) · the Kiewit Luminarium science center · the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge to Council Bluffs · The Durham Museum in the old Union Station · Joslyn Art Museum (free; reopened in 2024 with the Hawks Pavilion) · Omaha Children's Museum · the Orpheum Theater and Holland Performing Arts Center · CHI Health Center and Charles Schwab Field · the Douglas County Courthouse, 1701 Farnam St. (1912; National Register)
South: Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, 3701 S. 10th St., with the Desert Dome, Lied Jungle and a shark tunnel · Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft St., and Kenefick Park's Union Pacific locomotives · El Museo Latino · the Livestock Exchange Building (1926; National Register) in South Omaha
Neighborhoods with their own pages: Benson, South Omaha and Millard, former towns now part of Omaha, and Florence and Elkhorn
North: Great Plains Black History Museum · the Malcolm X Birthsite, 3448 Pinkney St. · General Crook House Museum at Fort Omaha · historic Florence and Winter Quarters · Hummel Park, Neale Woods and Glenn Cunningham Lake
Central and west: Joslyn Castle · Elmwood Park and Memorial Park · the Omaha Community Playhouse · the new Central Library, 7205 Dodge St. (opened April 19, 2026) · Standing Bear Lake and Zorinsky Lake Park
Annual events (2026 dates): the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting (May 2, CHI Health Center); the Men's College World Series (June 12–22, Charles Schwab Field); the Omaha Art Fair (June 12–14, Aksarben Village); the Maha Festival (August 8, Heartland of America Park)

Events in Omaha

Omaha St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Omaha St. Patrick's Day Parade is held in Omaha, Nebraska, on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Omaha Public Schools, Millard Public Schools and Westside Community Schools (parts of the city are in the Elkhorn, Ralston and Bennington districts); colleges: Creighton University, University of Nebraska Omaha, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Saint Mary, Clarkson College, Nebraska Methodist College and Metropolitan Community College

Health care: Nebraska Medicine – Nebraska Medical Center, 42nd and Emile Sts.; CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center – Bergan Mercy, 7500 Mercy Rd.; Nebraska Methodist Hospital, 8303 Dodge St.; Children's Nebraska, 8200 Dodge St.; CHI Health Immanuel, 6901 N. 72nd St.; CHI Health Lakeside, 16901 Lakeside Hills Ct.; Omaha VA Medical Center, 4101 Woolworth Ave.

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Douglas County Historical Society; NEGenWeb Douglas County; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Papio-Missouri River NRD; city, school and hospital websites; Nebraska Department of Transportation. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.