Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0At 0.6%, unemployment in Gretna is lower than in 97% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Gretna for work; outside it, Omaha is the main destination (56%, 12 miles). The two grades for Gretna are A+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Gretna is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Gretna in brief
More than half of Gretna works in Omaha
2,675 working residents, 56%, have their main job in Omaha, 12 miles away. That’s 5 times as many as work in Gretna itself. The commute map ↓
Gretna has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Gretna went from 4,250 in 2013 to 7,539 in 2023, +77%. The jobs ↓
Gretna is where the jobs are
Gretna has 7,539 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
42% of the jobs in Gretna are in trade, transport and utilities, against 19% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Gretna’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gretna is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #2 of 57 in Nebraska. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gretna could be anywhere from A to A+.
Where the people who work in Gretna live
Where Gretna clocks in
56% of workers
4% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Jobs in Gretna: what the 7,539 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gretna, 2013 → 2023: 4,250 → 7,539. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Gretna’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Gretna on a workday
On a workday 4,267 residents head out to work, 548 work right here, and 6,991 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Gretna on a workday afternoon, 30% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Time on the road from Gretna: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gretna workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,470 commuters (the 17% who work from home are left out). Across Nebraska: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Gretna’s workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Gretna is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gretna is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns, #46 of 57 in Nebraska. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.5% across Nebraska.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,406 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.5% of Gretna households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Gretna’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Gretna is 91st among 2,886 U.S. towns of 6,400 to 12,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Volo IL | 6,805 | $161K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 90 | Mount Airy MD | 9,857 | $151K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 9% | A+ |
| 91 | Gretna NE | 9,207 | $124K | 4.2% | 0.6% | 11% | A+ |
| 92 | South Weber UT | 8,218 | $139K | 2.2% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 93 | Cumberland ME | 8,876 | $174K | 3.1% | 0.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 332 | Chalco NE | 10,595 | $86K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 611 | Plattsmouth NE | 6,955 | $74K | 5.1% | 0.7% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 929 | Blair NE | 7,997 | $81K | 7.8% | 2.1% | 30% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,886 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Gretna, the top three, the last and three more from Nebraska.
How Gretna compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Chalco (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Gretna’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Gretna: questions
What is the median household income in Gretna?
$123,992 (±$11,314) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gretna?
4.2%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gretna?
21 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gretna work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Omaha (56%, 12 mi), Papillion (4%, 6 mi), Lincoln (3%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gretna walkable?
Gretna is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gretna without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gretna, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gretna
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.