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Capital of Nebraska · Lancaster County · capital since 1867 · 40.8°N 96.7°W
Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln was chosen as Nebraska's capital at statehood in 1867 to move the government south of the Platte River, away from Omaha. It is the second-largest city in the state and home to the country's only unicameral legislature.
Where Lincoln is
Lincoln is the seat of Lancaster County in southeastern Nebraska, at 40.81°N, 96.70°W and about 1,180 ft above sea level. Salt Creek, a tributary of the Platte, flows north through the west side of the city; the salt flats along it drew the first settlers, who hoped to produce salt commercially. The Platte River is about 25 miles to the north. Interstate 80 skirts the north edge of the city. Lincoln is on Central Time, as is all of Nebraska except the Panhandle and a few adjoining counties, which use Mountain Time.
How it became the capital
Omaha was the capital of Nebraska Territory from 1854. Settlers south of the Platte, who had long resented Omaha, gained a majority when Nebraska became the 37th state in 1867, and the legislature ordered the capital moved south of the river. Commissioners chose the village of Lancaster and renamed it for the recently assassinated president, a name meant partly to embarrass pro-Southern legislators who opposed the move. The government relocated in 1868.
Population
Lincoln had 291,082 residents in 2020, the second-largest city in Nebraska after Omaha, with 486,051. The two cities together hold about 40 percent of the state's 1,961,504 people. The Lincoln metropolitan area, covering Lancaster and Seward counties, has about 340,000.
The capitol
The Nebraska State Capitol, completed in 1932, is the work of Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and is unlike any other: a 400-ft limestone tower rising from a low square base, topped with a gold-tiled dome and a 19-ft bronze figure of a sower scattering seed. Its sculpture is by Lee Lawrie and the inscriptions by philosopher Hartley Burr Alexander. Since 1937 Nebraska has had the only single-chamber, nonpartisan state legislature in the country, and it meets in the former Senate chamber.
Distances to other cities
| City | Direction | Road distance |
|---|---|---|
| Omaha, NE | northeast | about 55 mi |
| Kansas City, MO | southeast | about 200 mi |
| Denver, CO | west | about 485 mi |
The University of Nebraska's main campus is a few blocks north of the capitol.
Related maps
- Nebraska map — the whole state with borders, cities and counties.
- Nebraska county map · blank Nebraska map · printable Nebraska map.
- All 50 state capitals on one map, and the state capitals quiz.
- Midwest region · West North Central division · Central Time Zone.