Lincoln is the capital city of the State of Nebraska, in the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 225,581 and is the second largest city in the state. It is the county seat of Lancaster County, and is one of the few major cities of Nebraska not located along the Platte River.
Lincoln is the home of the University of Nebraska and is the location of the Nebraska State Fair. It boasts the headquarters of Nebraska Educational Television (affiliated with the Public Broadcasting System), and Nebraska Public Radio (affiliated with National Public Radio and Public Radio International). These public broadcasting networks that reach throughout the State, except to Omaha, which has its own local public stations.
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2 Geography 3 Demographics |
History
Lincoln started out as the village of Lancaster, which was founded in 1856, and became the county seat of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859. The territorial capital of Nebraska had been Omaha since the creation of the territory in 1854, but the bulk of the population wanted to move the capital to a more central location. Since most of the population was south of the Platte River, the legislature voted to move the capital south of the river and as far west as possible. The village of Lancaster was chosen.
However, an Omaha senator attempted to derail the move by having Lancaster renamed after the recently assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. At the time, most of the people south of the river had been supporters of the Confederate South and the senator assumed they would not pass the measure if they had to name the capital after the leader of the Union. The ploy did not work. Lancaster was renamed Lincoln and became the state capital at the same time that Nebraska became a state, on March 1, 1867.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 195.2 km² (75.4 sq mi).
193.3 km² (74.6 sq mi) of it is land and 1.9 km² (0.7 sq mi) of it is water.
The total area is 0.98% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 225,581 people, 90,485 households, and 53,567 families residing in the city.
The population density is 1,166.9/km² (3,022.2/sq mi).
There are 95,199 housing units at an average density of 492.5/km² (1,275.4/sq mi).
The racial makeup of the city is 89.25% White, 3.09% African American, 0.68% Native American, 3.12% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.81% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races.
3.61% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 90,485 households, out of which 29.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% are married couples living together, 9.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.8% are non-families. 30.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.36 and the average family size is 2.99.
In the city, the population is spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 16.4% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $40,605, and the median income for a family is $52,558. Males have a median income of $33,899 versus $25,402 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,984. 10.1% of the population and 5.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 10.7% are under the age of 18 and 6.0% are 65 or older.