Nextiva
Loves Lincoln
The city of Lincoln, Nebraska was founded in 1856 and incorporated in 1869. Some of the first settlers were attracted to the town to work in salt mines, however, the economy soon changed to farming the flat plains. They were hit hard by the Great Depression, but the population soon bounced back as German and Russian immigrants continued to move to the city and the nearby towns were annexed to meet the housing and infrastructure demands.
With the arrival of the railroad in Lincoln, the city became a transport hub in Nebraska and later an air travel hub as well with the Lincoln Air Force Base during World War II. In the 1990’s Lincoln experienced another population surge, and now the city sits comfortably as the 71st biggest in the US.
The Lincoln area code doesn’t have any Fortune 500 companies, but it does host one on the Fortune 1000 list. Amica Mutual Insurance is a company with a focus on auto insurance and ranked #834 on the most recent 2017 list. Other big industries in Lincoln are manufacturing and service, and there are also sectors of the economy focused on banking, finance, tech, education, railroads, and more. Their diverse economy has contributed to the city’s extremely low unemployment rate of only 2.1%.
The biggest employer in area code 402 is the State of Nebraska with over 9,000 employees. The other companies rounding out the top five list are Lincoln Public Schools, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Bryan Health, and the US Government.
The unemployment rate in Lincoln in much lower than the national average. It’s reported between 2% and 3% by different publications, while the US average in 5.2%. Additionally, over the next ten years the city is expecting job growth of around 37%. The average household income in the Lincoln area code is $50,000, which comes in close to the US national average of $53,000 per household. Almost 19% of the population in area code 402 makes over $100,000 a year, and the top three occupations for residents in the city are health care and social assistance, educational services, and retail trade.
Lincoln was named as one of Forbes “Best Places to Retire” in 2017, and the same publication also listed it on their roundups of “America’s Safest Cities” and “Cities with the Lowest Unemployment Rates.” Annual events in the Lincoln area code include the Lincoln Marathon and the Sip Nebraska Wine and Craft Beer Festival among many others.
