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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 9/5/08. 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......
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