Omaha, Nebraska
| Omaha, Nebraska | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Omaha
John Ewing Jr. | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2025 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2029 |
| Last city council election: | 2025 |
| Next city council election: | 2029 |
| City council seats: | 7 |
| City website | |
| Composition data | |
| Population: | 486,051 |
| Race: | White 65.5% African American 12.4% Asian 4.6% Native American 1.1% Pacific Islander 0.1% Multiple 9.1% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic or Latino origin 15.5% |
| Median household income: | $72,708 |
| High school graduation rate: | 90.5% |
| College graduation rate: | 40.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census and 2023 ACS data. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. | |
| Related Omaha offices | |
| Nebraska Congressional Delegation Nebraska State Legislature Nebraska state executive offices | |
Omaha is a city in Douglas County, Nebraska. The city's population was 486,051 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Omaha utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body while the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[1]
Mayor
The mayor serves as the city's chief executive and is responsible for proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, supervising administrative and executive activities, enforcing the city charter, city ordinances, and all laws; appointing officers and employees in the executive branch, certain administrative employees, and members of boards, commissions, and authorities.[1][2]
The current Mayor of Omaha is John Ewing Jr. (nonpartisan). Ewing assumed office in 2025.
City council
The Omaha City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving mayoral appointees, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[1]
The Omaha City Council is made up of seven members. Each member is elected by one of the city's seven districts.[3]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Omaha Public Power District
- See also: Special districts
Special districts are a form of local government that exist to fulfill a specific purpose within a certain geographic area. This region can be as large as a county or smaller than a city block. Special districts have the power to tax their local residents in order to fund operational expenditures. Although a special district may be formed for any stated purpose, the most common examples include library, hospital, transportation, airport, utility, conservation, sanitation, fire control, and flood control districts.
Other elected officials
Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in Omaha, Nebraska.
Mayoral partisanship
Omaha has a Democratic mayor. As of October 2025, 66 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 23 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, three are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2025
The city of Omaha, Nebraska, held general elections for mayor and city council on May 13, 2025. A primary was scheduled for April 1, 2025. The filing deadline for city council incumbents was February 18, 2025, and the filing deadline for non-incumbent city council candidates was March 3, 2025.
2024
- See also: City elections in Omaha, Nebraska (2024)
The city of Omaha, Nebraska, held general elections for public power district on November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled for May 14, 2024. The filing deadline for incumbents in this election was February 15, 2024, and the filing deadline for non-incumbents in this election was March 1, 2024.
2022
- See also: City elections in Omaha, Nebraska (2022)
The city of Omaha, Nebraska, held general elections for public power district board on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for May 10, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was March 1, 2022.
2021
The city of Omaha, Nebraska, held general elections for mayor and city council on May 11, 2021. A primary was scheduled for April 6, 2021. The filing deadline for city council incumbents was February 16, 2021, and the filing deadline for city council non-incumbent candidates was March 1, 2021.
2020
- See also: City elections in Omaha, Nebraska (2020)
The city of Omaha, Nebraska, held general elections for Omaha Public Power District Subdivisions 1 and 2 on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for May 12, 2020. The filing deadline for incumbents running in this election was February 18, 2020, and the filing deadline for challengers running in this election was March 2, 2020.
2017
The city of Omaha, Nebraska, held elections for mayor and city council on May 9, 2017. A primary took place on April 4, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 3, 2017. All seven council seats were up for election.
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Omaha | |
|---|---|
| Omaha | |
| Population | 486,051 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 142 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 68.8% |
| Black/African American | 11.8% |
| Asian | 4% |
| Native American | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% |
| Other (single race) | 5% |
| Multiple | 9.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 15.6% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 90.5% |
| College graduation rate | 40.3% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $72,708 |
| Persons below poverty level | 12.8% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates on a fiscal year cycle from January 1 to December 31. The mayor and city finance director formulate the budget and submit the proposal to the city council for consideration. The city council is responsible for adopting the budget.[4]
| “ | At the meeting of the Council at which the Mayor submits the budget, the Council shall determine the time and place at which it will hold a public hearing on the budget. The date for public hearing shall be scheduled for not later than ten days prior to the tax levy certification date, and the time and place of the hearing shall be published in each of the daily newspapers of general circulation in the city not less than five days before the hearing. After the hearing the Council may revise the expenditure side of the budget by increasing, decreasing, inserting, or deleting appropriation items, except that it shall not reduce appropriations for debt service. The Council may revise revenue estimates if such revision is concurred in by five of its members. Not later than the day prior to the tax levy certification date, the Council shall by majority vote adopt a budget by resolution and thereby authorize appropriations for the ensuing budget year. The budget as adopted shall be reproduced, and copies shall be made available to interested citizens and other governmental jurisdictions. [4][5] | ” |
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[6]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[5] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[7] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[6]
Omaha, Nebraska, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
Omaha-Douglas Civic Center
1819 Farnam Street
Omaha, NE 68183
Phone: 402-444-5555
City Clerk's office
1819 Farnam St, Suite LC-1
Omaha, NE 68183
Phone: 402-444-5550
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
- See also: Douglas County, Nebraska ballot measures
The city of Omaha is in Douglas County. A list of ballot measures in Douglas County is available here.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Omaha, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Omaha, Nebraska, began on Friday, May 29, 2020, at the intersection of 72nd and Dodge Sts.[8] On May 31, Mayor Jean Stothert (R) declared a state of emergency and instituted a curfew.[9] The same day, Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) announced the activation of the Nebraska National Guard and deployed members to the city.[10]
2015: Study on city’s nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Omaha, Nebraska, as a city or county that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[11]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Omaha official website
- Office of the Mayor
- Omaha City Council
- Omaha City Charter and Code
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 City of Omaha, Nebraska, "About the City Council," accessed August 10, 2021
- ↑ Omaha City Charter and Code, "Omaha, Nebraska - Code of Ordinances, Part I: Charter," accessed August 10, 2021
- ↑ City of Omaha, Nebraska, "Councilmembers," accessed August 10, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Omaha City Charter and Code, "PART I - CHARTER; ARTICLE V. - FINANCE," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ WOWT, "George Floyd protest in Omaha: Arrests made, stores damaged after hundreds gather near 72nd & Dodge," May 29, 2020
- ↑ KETV, "State of emergency, curfew declared in Omaha; National Guard deployed following two nights of protests," May 31, 2020
- ↑ KMTV, "National Guard arrives in downtown Omaha," May 31, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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