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Manufacturing Compass

Nebraska manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Nebraska manufacturing in 2023

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Nebraska combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

2,040

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
0.5%

Employment

104,762

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
0.8%

Total wages

$6.7 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
0.6%

Average weekly wage

$1,232

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
−22.4%

Average annual pay

$64,059

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
−22.4%

Location quotient

1.24

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Nebraska is 1.24 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first.

  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    40,579
    Establishments
    359
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,567
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.1%
    Location quotient
    3.55
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    9,333
    Establishments
    209
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,947
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.1%
    Location quotient
    1.26
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,286
    Establishments
    300
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,356
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.5%
    Location quotient
    0.98
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    8,821
    Establishments
    85
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,561
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −26.0%
    Location quotient
    0.76
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    6,850
    Establishments
    135
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,968
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.5%
    Location quotient
    1.16
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    5,415
    Establishments
    77
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,950
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.0%
    Location quotient
    1.12
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    4,708
    Establishments
    151
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,639
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.6%
    Location quotient
    1.15
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    3,701
    Establishments
    56
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,332
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −52.6%
    Location quotient
    0.51
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    3,660
    Establishments
    174
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,777
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.1%
    Location quotient
    1.50
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,896
    Establishments
    144
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,629
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.0%
    Location quotient
    1.05
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,335
    Establishments
    66
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,277
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.6%
    Location quotient
    0.85
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    1,634
    Establishments
    29
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,818
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.6%
    Location quotient
    0.60
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    1,332
    Establishments
    18
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,899
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.6%
    Location quotient
    0.57
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,314
    Establishments
    76
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,795
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.1%
    Location quotient
    0.56
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    1,060
    Establishments
    14
    Avg. annual pay
    $102,233
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +18.6%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    905
    Establishments
    74
    Avg. annual pay
    $30,280
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −48.4%
    Location quotient
    0.41
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    384
    Establishments
    7
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,447
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.7%
    Location quotient
    2.22
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    283
    Establishments
    41
    Avg. annual pay
    $43,337
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.3%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    119
    Establishments
    10
    Avg. annual pay
    $47,766
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.0%
    Location quotient
    0.20
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    96
    Establishments
    10
    Avg. annual pay
    $37,044
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −33.5%
    Location quotient
    0.17
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    53
    Establishments
    8
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,727
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −42.8%
    Location quotient
    0.07

03By year

Nebraska manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Nebraska by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022103,321$62,729−21.1%
2023104,762$64,059−22.4%
2024104,358$65,436−23.4%
2025102,692$66,955−25.2%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2023 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology