Lincoln continued to grow slowly last year, adding about 1,150 people.
According to Census estimates released Thursday, Lincoln's population as of July 1 was 292,627, compared with 291,476 as of July 1, 2021.
The city is now estimated to have added a little more than 1,500 people since official 2020 census counts were released.
That's an average of only about 750 people a year during the current decade. In the 2010s, the city added an average of about 3,300 people a year.
However, Lincoln fared better than the state's other largest cities in the latest estimates.
Omaha, Nebraska's largest city, is estimated to have lost more than 3,500 people last year and more than 6,500 people since the 2020 census.
Many of its suburbs also have lost population, especially those in Sarpy County, which has been the fastest-growing county in the state for years.
People are also reading…
Bellevue lost population last year, dropping from an estimated 63,885 people in 2021 to 63,015 last year. As of the 2020 Census, Bellevue had 64,215.
Papillion fell by about 400 people last year, La Vista dropped by nearly 300 and Gretna saw its population decline by more than 150.
On the other hand, suburban areas around Lincoln continued relatively strong growth. Waverly added more than 70 people and has now added nearly 200 since the 2020 census, hitting 4,468 people. Hickman had even stronger growth, adding nearly 200 people last year to pass the 3,000 population mark for the first time. The city has now added more than 400 people since the 2020 census.
Hallam and Malcolm continued to grow steadily, while growth in Bennet and Firth has leveled off.
Among the state's other large cities, Kearney saw the strongest growth, adding more than 300 people last year and now up nearly 500 people since the 2020 Census.
Columbus added about 65 people and is now up about 165 people since 2020, while Norfolk added eight people.
Grand Island added 40 new residents, growing from 52,472 to 52,513, which is more than 600 fewer people than reported during the 2020 Census.
Among the other largest cities, North Platte continued to hemorrhage residents, losing 243 people over the past year. The city has now lost more than 650 residents since the 2020 Census.
Fremont and Hastings also lost people.
David Drozd, director of research and data analytics for Community Health Development Partners in Omaha, said he doesn't put a lot of stock in the city population numbers.
"Early in the decade, there can be a lot of play in the numbers before the trends show themselves clearly in the data," Drozd said, noting that the Census' county-level estimates are much more accurate.
Those estimates, released in April, showed that Sarpy County added 2,755 people, Lancaster County added 1,336 and Douglas County added 860.
"I wouldn’t take these (city) numbers too seriously or proclaim loudly that these large traditionally growing cities are now losing population — it could well be flukes within the methodology," he said.