Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area

The Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area is a metropolitan area comprising the cities of Omaha, Nebraska, Council Bluffs, Iowa, and surrounding areas. The Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area has a population of 865,350 (2010). The metropolitan area, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, consists of eight counties — five in Nebraska and three in Iowa. The area is locally referred to as "the Metro Area", "Metro", or simply "Omaha". Three of the counties have large urban areas; the other five counties consist primarily of rural communities, most of which have populations of 1,000 or less.

An "extended" metropolitan area—or trade zone—shows more than 1.2 million people within a 60-mile (100-km) radius of Omaha; the majority of these additional people live in the Lincoln metropolitan area.

Historical definitions and populations
Standard definitions for United States metropolitan areas were created in 1949; the first census which had metropolitan area data was the 1950 census. At that time, the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area comprised three counties: Douglas and Sarpy in Nebraska, and Pottawattamie in Iowa. No additional counties were added to the metropolitan area until 1983, when Washington County, Nebraska was added. Cass County, Nebraska was added in 1993; Saunders County in Nebraska and Harrison and Mills counties in Iowa became part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area in 2003.

The 2003 revision to metropolitan area definitions was accompanied by the creation of micropolitan areas and Combined Statistical Areas. Fremont, in Dodge County, Nebraska, was designated a micropolitan area. The Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont Combined Statistical Area has a population of 858,720 (2006 estimate).

Nebraska

 * Cass County, Nebraska
 * Douglas County, Nebraska
 * Sarpy County, Nebraska
 * Saunders County, Nebraska
 * Washington County, Nebraska

Iowa

 * Harrison County, Iowa
 * Mills County, Iowa
 * Pottawattamie County, Iowa

Primary cities



 * Omaha – 408,958 inhabitants (2010)
 * Council Bluffs – 63,000 inhabitants (2009 estimate)

Cities of 10,000 people or more

 * Bellevue - 50,137 inhabitants (2010)
 * La Vista - 15,758 inhabitants (2010)
 * Papillion - 18,894 inhabitants (2010)

Cities of 5,000 to 10,000 people

 * Blair - 7,512 inhabitants
 * Glenwood - 5,358 inhabitants
 * Plattsmouth - 6,887 inhabitants
 * Ralston - 6,314 inhabitants

Census-designated places

 * Chalco - 10,736 inhabitants
 * Offutt AFB - 8,901 inhabitants