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Manufacturing Compass

Nebraska manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Nebraska manufacturing in 2025

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

Establishments

1,900

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
399,936
Share of U.S.Calc
0.5%

Employment

102,692

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,579,906
Share of U.S.Calc
0.8%

Total wages

$6.9 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

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

Average weekly wage

$1,288

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,721
vs. U.S.Calc
−25.2%

Average annual pay

$66,955

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$89,471
vs. U.S.Calc
−25.2%

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
    41,939
    Establishments
    348
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,928
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.3%
    Location quotient
    3.60
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    8,981
    Establishments
    294
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,917
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.5%
    Location quotient
    0.96
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    8,896
    Establishments
    79
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,127
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −30.2%
    Location quotient
    0.78
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    8,167
    Establishments
    190
    Avg. annual pay
    $70,407
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.5%
    Location quotient
    1.15
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    6,234
    Establishments
    122
    Avg. annual pay
    $86,090
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −30.2%
    Location quotient
    1.07
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    5,178
    Establishments
    72
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,992
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.2%
    Location quotient
    1.13
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    4,390
    Establishments
    132
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,054
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.7%
    Location quotient
    1.10
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    3,457
    Establishments
    44
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,142
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −53.0%
    Location quotient
    0.53
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    3,344
    Establishments
    165
    Avg. annual pay
    $53,047
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.1%
    Location quotient
    1.48
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,934
    Establishments
    137
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,271
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.5%
    Location quotient
    1.08
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,093
    Establishments
    60
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,477
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.1%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    1,792
    Establishments
    30
    Avg. annual pay
    $70,467
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −21.7%
    Location quotient
    0.63
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    1,267
    Establishments
    17
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,558
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.3%
    Location quotient
    0.55
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,255
    Establishments
    70
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,525
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.8%
    Location quotient
    0.57
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    1,007
    Establishments
    14
    Avg. annual pay
    $115,060
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +23.2%
    Location quotient
    0.42
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    888
    Establishments
    69
    Avg. annual pay
    $31,845
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −50.3%
    Location quotient
    0.41
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    371
    Establishments
    7
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,844
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.1%
    Location quotient
    2.39
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    259
    Establishments
    32
    Avg. annual pay
    $50,057
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.4%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    107
    Establishments
    8
    Avg. annual pay
    $47,050
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.3%
    Location quotient
    0.20
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    71
    Establishments
    8
    Avg. annual pay
    $41,680
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −30.2%
    Location quotient
    0.14
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    61
    Establishments
    5
    Avg. annual pay
    $104,499
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −27.3%
    Location quotient
    0.09

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/2025/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2025 (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