Metro Nebraska
Omaha and the Missouri River valley
Six counties around Omaha, from the Missouri River bluffs west across the Platte and Elkhorn valleys. In 2020 they held 882,038 people — nearly half of Nebraska — led by Omaha (486,051), Bellevue (64,176), Fremont (27,141), Papillion (24,159) and La Vista (16,746). Omaha is home to Union Pacific and Berkshire Hathaway, the Henry Doorly Zoo and the College World Series; Bellevue is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Nebraska.
Counties in Metro Nebraska
Douglas County
Seat: Omaha · 584,526 people · Henry Doorly Zoo, the Old Market, the College World Series and Boys Town
Sarpy County
Seat: Papillion · 190,604 people · Bellevue, Offutt Air Force Base, Fontenelle Forest and Werner Park
Dodge County
Seat: Fremont · 37,167 people · Fremont Lakes, the Louis E. May Museum and the Hooper Historic District
Cass County
Seat: Plattsmouth · 26,598 people · Mahoney and Platte River state parks, the SAC museum and the Wildlife Safari
Saunders County
Seat: Wahoo · 22,278 people · Lake Wanahoo, Ashland’s Silver Street and Czech Prague
Washington County
Seat: Blair · 20,865 people · Fort Atkinson and the DeSoto and Boyer Chute wildlife refuges
Towns
Explore Metro Nebraska
Attractions
- Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
- The Old Market and The RiverFront with the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge
- The Durham Museum, Joslyn Art Museum and Lauritzen Gardens
- The College World Series each June
- Boys Town, and Winter Quarters at Florence
- Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum and Wildlife Safari near Ashland
- Werner Park in Papillion
Parks & Outdoors
- Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue
- Mahoney State Park, Platte River State Park and Louisville State Recreation Area along the Platte in Cass County
- Schramm Park State Recreation Area near Gretna and Two Rivers State Recreation Area near Waterloo
- Fremont Lakes and Dead Timber near Fremont
- Lake Wanahoo at Wahoo and Memphis State Recreation Area
- DeSoto and Boyer Chute national wildlife refuges on the Missouri
History & Heritage
Lewis and Clark reached the mouth of the Platte on July 21, 1804, and held their first council with the Otoe and Missouria at Council Bluff that summer. The Army’s Fort Atkinson (1820–1827), the first U.S. post west of the Missouri, stood beside today’s Fort Calhoun. Bellevue began as a fur-trading post about 1822 and is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Nebraska; Peter Sarpy’s ferry carried Mormon and Oregon Trail emigrants from 1846, and the Mormons wintered at Winter Quarters, now Omaha’s Florence neighborhood. Fort Crook, built south of Bellevue in 1894–96, became Offutt Air Force Base, headquarters of the Strategic Air Command from 1948 to 1992 and now of U.S. Strategic Command. Czech settlers filled western Saunders County, around Prague and the old parish at Plasi.
Cameras & Roads
Road cameras by county (Nebraska 511 images): Douglas · Sarpy · Dodge · Cass · Saunders · Washington. Road conditions: Nebraska 511.
Corridors: I-80 · US 6 · US 30 · US 75 · US 275 · NE 92 · NE 50. Trails: Lewis and Clark Trail · Mormon Pioneer Trail.
Visitor Resources
Eppley Airfield in Omaha has scheduled airline service. Omaha, Bellevue, Papillion, La Vista and Fremont have full services; I-80, I-480 and I-680 connect the metro. Each county page lists its businesses by category: Douglas · Sarpy · Dodge · Cass · Saunders · Washington.
The Six Counties of Metro Nebraska
The Omaha metro is where nearly half of Nebraska lives — 882,038 of the state’s 1,961,504 people in 2020. Douglas, Sarpy, Washington, Cass and Saunders make up the Nebraska side of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area; Dodge County, centered on Fremont, belongs to the wider combined area. Together they run from the Missouri River bluffs west across the Platte and Elkhorn bottoms into farm country.
It is not all city. Douglas and Sarpy are urban — between them they hold Omaha, Bellevue, Papillion, La Vista and Gretna — while Cass, Saunders, Washington and Dodge are river and farm counties with commuter towns, state parks and some of the best-known small-town stories in Nebraska. Each summary below comes from its county page, which has the full list of towns, places and businesses.
Cass County at a Glance
Cass County, Nebraska — between the Platte and Missouri rivers south of Omaha. County seat Plattsmouth; other cities Louisville and Weeping Water.
Getting there: I-80 exits 420 and 426, US 34 and US 75 from Omaha and Lincoln, US 6 to Greenwood, NE 50 from Omaha to Louisville.
For visitors: Mahoney and Platte River state parks, the SAC museum, the Plattsmouth courthouse and Main Street, the Bess Streeter Aldrich House in Elmwood and the Cass County Fair in Weeping Water. No hospital in the county; the nearest are in Bellevue, Papillion, Lincoln and Nebraska City.
Dodge County at a Glance
Dodge County, Nebraska — one of the eight original counties of Nebraska Territory, between the Platte and the Elkhorn northwest of Omaha. County seat Fremont, Nebraska's sixth-largest city.
Getting there: US 275 from Omaha, US 30 along the Platte, US 77 from Lincoln and Sioux City, NE 79 and NE 91 to the northern towns.
For visitors: Fremont Lakes and Dead Timber state recreation areas, the Louis E. May Museum and Love-Larson Opera House in Fremont, the Hooper Historic District, the Musbach Museum in Scribner and Mormon Trail markers along the Platte. Methodist Fremont Health in Fremont is the county's hospital.
Douglas County at a Glance
Douglas County, Nebraska — the state's most populous county, on the Missouri River across from Council Bluffs, Iowa. County seat Omaha.
Getting there: I-80 from Lincoln and Council Bluffs, US 75 from Blair and Bellevue, US 275 from Fremont, US 6 from the west. Eppley Airfield, 4501 Abbott Dr., is the region's airport.
For visitors: the Henry Doorly Zoo, the Old Market and The RiverFront, the College World Series in June, Boys Town, Winter Quarters at Florence, and Two Rivers State Recreation Area near Waterloo. Major hospitals are in Omaha.
Sarpy County at a Glance
Sarpy County, Nebraska — between Omaha and the Platte River, the state's smallest county by area and third-largest by population. County seat Papillion; largest city Bellevue.
Getting there: I-80 from Omaha and Lincoln, US 75 through Bellevue, US 6 to Gretna, NE 50 from Louisville.
For visitors: Fontenelle Forest and old Bellevue, Offutt Air Force Base, Werner Park, Nebraska Crossing, Schramm Park and the Linoma Lighthouse. Hospitals: Bellevue Medical Center and CHI Health Midlands in Papillion.
Saunders County at a Glance
Saunders County, Nebraska — in the bend of the Platte between Fremont, Omaha and Lincoln. County seat Wahoo.
Getting there: US 77 from Fremont and Lincoln, NE 92 from Omaha, US 6 and I-80 at Ashland, NE 79 from North Bend.
For visitors: Lake Wanahoo and the county museum in Wahoo, Silver Street in Ashland, Czech Prague and the old parishes at Plasi and Cedar Hill, Memphis State Recreation Area, and Mahoney State Park and the SAC museum just across the line. Saunders Medical Center in Wahoo is the county's hospital.
Washington County at a Glance
Washington County, Nebraska — one of the eight original counties of Nebraska Territory, on the Missouri River just north of Omaha. County seat Blair.
Getting there: US 75 and NE 133 from Omaha, US 30 from Fremont and from Iowa across the Blair bridge, NE 91 from the west.
For visitors: Fort Atkinson State Historical Park and the Washington County Museum in Fort Calhoun, the DeSoto and Boyer Chute wildlife refuges, Black Elk–Neihardt Park in Blair, and the territorial town of Fontanelle. Memorial Community Hospital in Blair serves the county.