Nebraska's economy continued to improve modestly in September, according to the latest leading economic indicator from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The September leading indicator rose by just 0.09% during the month, impacted by a decline in manufacturing hours worked and building permits for single-family homes during September. The decline in manufacturing hours was the third consecutive monthly decrease.
“The Nebraska economy will continue to recover from the recession, but the pace of recovery is expected to slow during over the winter,” said economist Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research at the university.
Other components of the leading indicator improved during the month. Business expectations were positive, with respondents to the September Survey of Nebraska Business reporting plans to increase employment and sales over the next six months.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance also dropped during September, along with the value of the U.S. dollar. Finally, there was a modest improvement in airline passenger counts in Nebraska during September.
No. 1 healthy housing market
Buying a home is tricky for everyone -- but that's especially so for parents.
Beer
Lincoln is the 26th-best city for beer drinkers (SmartAsset)
Getting out of credit card debt
Consumer borrowing saw a rise in the month of May.
Speedy web surfing
Lincoln has come in near the top in a ranking of average internet speeds among the nation's largest cities.
25th most "seller friendly" in US
Lincoln's housing market ranks pretty well nationally, too, at least when it comes to selling your home.
Zillow recently came out with its list of the most "seller friendly" metropolitan areas, and Lincoln came in 25th out of the 200 largest metro areas.
According to Zillow, the median home value in the Lincoln area is $182,400 and homes typically remain on the market for 65 days.
Nationally, Zillow said the housing market still favors sellers but that trend is slowing and moving closer to historical norms as inventory rises and competition dampens.
4th in economic development
Lincoln has improved its ranking as a top metro area for economic development.
Site Selection magazine released its list of top metro areas for economic development in 2018, and Lincoln came in fourth in the Tier 2 category, which covers metro areas with 200,000 to 1 million people. That was up from ninth in 2017.
The Omaha-Council Bluffs area repeated as No. 1 in the Tier 2 category. Omaha had 46 economic development projects in 2018, while Lincoln had 29.
Nebraska also won its third straight Governor's Cup award for economic development projects per capita, with 118 projects. Texas won its seventh straight Governor's Cup for most projects overall.
No. 11 city where seniors are prepared for retirement
Lincoln ranks as the No. 11 city where seniors are most prepared for retirement (SmartAsset)
Low startup costs
Of the fastest-growing high-wage jobs, the highest-ranking non-medical one is software developer, at No. 3.
The good news for startup founders, is that software developers and other high-tech employees cost a lot less in Lincoln than in many other places.
The website VCArbitrage.com put together a list of the Top 25 cities in U.S. for startup purchasing power, and Lincoln ranked 11th.
According to the ranking, $1 million in venture capital raised in Lincoln would have the purchasing power of $1.67 million compared with San Francisco.
Some examples of costs in Lincoln compared with San Francisco:
$72,000 annual salary for an engineer, compared with $137,000;
$62,000 a year for administration and sales costs compared with $85,000;
$300 for a dedicated co-working desk vs. $700;
Omaha ranked 16th on the list with $1.61 million in purchasing power.
El Paso, Texas, was the cheapest market, with nearly $2 million in purchasing power for $1 million raised.
You can compare various cities at www.vcarbitrage.com.
Lincoln drops in expanded Silicon Prairie News ranking
The presence of Hudl, along with Spreetail and Virtual Incision, is one of the reasons Lincoln ranks highly among cities in the Silicon Prairie
Lincoln declined in an expanded Silicon Prairie News ranking of Midwestern startup cities.
Lincoln came in 12th in the 2018 State of the Silicon Prairie Report released recently by the Omaha-based website that covers technology and the startup scene.
That's down from a No. 4 ranking in the inaugural 2016 report; however, the most recent report included 42 cities, while the 2016 report included only 16.
While Lincoln ranked behind major cities such as Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and St. Louis, it also did better in the ranking than many larger cities, including Des Moines, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Wichita.
When compared to other smaller cities that are home to major research universities, Lincoln did not fare as well, ranking behind Champaign, Illinois, Madison, Wisconsin, Ames, Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, and Columbia, Missouri. It ranked ahead of only Lawrence, Kansas, and Manhattan, Kansas.
According to the report, which was produced in conjunction with consulting firm Chapman and Company, Lincoln ranked highly in the amount of venture capital invested in 2017. It came in seventh out of the 42 cities with nearly $67 million raised, which was more than double the amount raised by companies in Des Moines, and more than quadruple what was raised in Omaha. It also landed in a tie for fifth place with Kansas City for its 13 startup accelerator and incubator programs.
Lincoln also had two of the largest venture capital deals in the region in 2017. Hudl's $30 million investment ranked eighth and Virtual Incision's $18 million deal ranked 11th.
"(Lincoln’s) biggest strengths are its handful of successful, high-growth companies – Virtual Incision, Hudl and Spreetail. These companies continue to generate jobs and investment at a tremendous pace. The problem is that there are not enough of them," the report says.
The report said Lincoln needs to find more venture capital sources beyond Nelnet and Invest Nebraska.
"Nelnet is an incredible investment player, as is Invest Nebraska," the report said. "However, the region has reached the point where more and different organized capital is necessary and beneficial."
Lincoln No. 2 in U.S. for work-life balance
For the second year in a row, Lincoln and Omaha have been named among the top cities in the country for work-life balance.
In the survey done by personal finance website SmartAsset, Lincoln ranked second and Omaha third, the same rankings for both cities as in 2018.
SmartAsset said Lincoln's high rank was largely because of top-10 rankings for its low unemployment rate, high labor-force participation and low commute times.
Madison, Wisconsin, was No. 1 on the list for the second year in a row. Henderson, Nevada, was fourth, and Boise, Idaho, was fifth.
2nd-most affordable college town
Lincoln is the second-most affordable college town, according to Move.org.
13th-best city for outdoor space
Lincoln is the 13th-best city for outdoor space, according to Potsplantersandmore.com.
Second-best city in which to raise a family
Lincoln is the second-best city in which to raise a family, according to Zumper.com.
No. 9 city with biggest increase in labor force participation among workers 65 and older
Since the early 1990s, older Americans have been forgoing retirement and working longer, largely due to changes in Social Security and pensions and the rising cost of health insurance.
One of 27 cheapest places to retire
Lincoln is one of the 27 cheapest places to retire in 2018, according to Kiplinger.
Eighth-best place to apply for a credit card
Total credit rose $17.9 billion after a $23 billion increase in July, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.
Matt Olberding
Business reporter
Matt Olberding is a Lincoln native and University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate who has been covering business for the Journal Star since 2005.
