How it works
A random city in Nebraska is more often a village: 381 of the 528 municipalities in the Census Bureau's 2025 estimates are villages. The draw opens on the 197 places with 500 people or more.
Read the full guide
Why the draw starts at 500 people
Of the 528 places, 331 have under 500 people and 111 have under 100. At the other end, Omaha and Lincoln together hold just over half of everyone who lives in a Nebraska city or village.
Counties with one village, or none
Ninety-one of the 93 counties have a city or village. Banner and McPherson Counties have none, and six have just one. The County list holds the 78 counties with a place of 500 people. Lincoln is in Lancaster County, while North Platte is the largest city of Lincoln County.
- Ten places are named like a county they are not in: Kearney is in Buffalo County, and Minden is in Kearney County.
- Boelus, in Howard County, is officially Howard City; the card uses the local name.
Questions and answers
How many cities are in Nebraska?
Nebraska has 147 cities; with its villages that makes 528 municipalities. Only Omaha and Lincoln have 100,000 people or more, and 16 places have 10,000.
What is the difference between a city and a village in Nebraska?
By statute a village has 100 to 800 people, and a place with 801 to 5,000 is a city of the second class unless it keeps village government. Arlington, the largest village, has 1,329 people, and 25 cities have under 800.
What is the smallest town in Nebraska?
Monowi, a village in Boyd County, with one person in the 2025 estimates. Gross, also in Boyd County, has three, and Anoka and Brewster nine each.
What are the largest cities in Nebraska?
Omaha, with 488,797 people, then Lincoln, the capital, with 301,522, Bellevue with 64,863, Grand Island with 53,943 and Kearney with 34,782.