OMAHA — Public transit options emerged as a top complaint about the Omaha region in a survey aimed at gaining intel on how to hold onto young professional talent.

Good salary, flexible scheduling and paid time off for sickness and vacation were identified as the most important workplace attractions.

And a resounding 77% of respondents strongly agreed that focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace is a “good thing.”

The findings are part of a data-driven effort by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce to spotlight gaps in meeting expectations of college-educated and high skilled professionals so that employers and policymakers can reverse the “brain drain” trend that has troubled the state.

‘Starting Point’

About 700 people chose to respond to the questionnaire, which was marketed and made publicly available in the eight-county area served by the chamber. The bulk of those who participated, 86%, had at least a bachelor’s degree. Nearly 75% were white.

Done in partnership with the University of Nebraska at Omaha-based Center for Public Affairs Research, the survey was conducted in 2024 and results were presented to chamber leaders in January. But the findings are now starting to be more widely discussed.

On Monday, UNO researchers will explain highlights to a gathering at the chamber that is expected to draw young professionals, business and other leaders.

“The more we know about what talent is seeking and wanting, the more we can key in and help elevate what is going on already — or help support improvements,” said Merrick Brtek, director of the chamber’s Young Professionals & Talent Development Programs. “Is it going to fix everything? No. But it is a starting point for us to move forward with that feedback.”

For example, she said, the chamber runs a program introducing newcomers and others to area resources, including information on Omaha’s rapid bus transit system and how to get a daily Heartland Bike Share pass. About 73% of respondents said they were somewhat or extremely dissatisfied with transit options within the region.

The chamber thinks the modern-day streetcar, which has been controversial, will help and be welcomed by young professionals once its downtown-to-midtown Omaha route opens, Brtek said.

Other transit-related concerns also stood out, however. For example, 56% of respondents were somewhat or extremely dissatisfied with available transit options (such as bus, train or plane) from the Omaha area to other regions like Denver, Chicago, Kansas City or Lincoln.

When it came to walk and bike friendly commutes, only 35% who participated marked extremely or somewhat satisfied.

Brtek said she was pleased to see that the bulk of participants gave a high rating to overall quality of life. About 88% said they were somewhat or extremely satisfied.

About 69% said the same about overall cost of living, though 60% said they were dissatisfied with the cost of taxes, such as sales, income and property.

Hybrid Over Remote Work

Among the more surprising nuggets to Brtek was the preference that respondents had for a hybrid but primarily in-person work environment, versus more remote.

“It’s exciting that people want that community aspect — to come together, connect and collaborate,” she said.

When asked to choose which work environment was most appealing, 32% marked the hybrid but primarily in-person choice; 28% marked hybrid but equally split between in-person and remote; 19% said hybrid, primarily remote; 11% said fully in person and 10% said fully remote.

Josie Schafer, head of the UNO research team that worked on the survey, said the survey dovetails with another done in 2019 that tracked down and asked questions of high-skilled professionals who had already left the area. In that study, 78% said that they fled for professional growth and development.

It’s not that jobs weren’t available locally, said Schafer, but “density” was lacking. Participants in the earlier survey felt there was not enough upward movement in companies where top management already was set as part of a family or established network.

This latest survey, on the other hand, was focused on young professionals who currently live and work in the area.

Schafer said only about 12% said they were not satisfied with their job overall. The lowest rated workplace factor was pay, followed by opportunity for advancement at work, she said.

“Inflation has gone up faster than wages in the Omaha area, people are feeling wage pressure, so pay is a real issue for folks,” Schafer said.

When asked which job benefits were most important, a top answer besides salary was paid time off for sickness and  vacations.

Most respondents said they weren’t likely to try to leave their current job in the next year. But when asked if they did choose to leave, about half said they’d probably leave Nebraska completely.

Top destination states mentioned were Colorado, Illinois, California, and Texas.

‘Quality Of Life’

“That is concerning,” Schafer said of brain-drain, or high-skilled people with a college education exiting Husker territory for other states. She said that domestic out-migration has been a “persistent issue for at least 15 years.”

Housing opportunities also stood out as a weakness, she said. About 53% of participants said they were either extremely or somewhat dissatisfied with rental or for-sale housing that meets their size and quality needs.

Among community-centric areas of the greater Omaha area that got the highest “extremely satisfied” marks: entertainment, restaurants and bars (41%); health care services (39%): quality of educational institutions (35%) and overall quality of life (31%).

Schafer will be sharing and discussing specifics of the survey findings at the Monday gathering.

“I don’t know that we’re taking enough steps to actually create the job opportunities that keep people here or the culture of organizations that keep people here,” she said, “Or the quality of life that makes people say, ‘It is worth the difference in pay to stay here.'”

In Their Own Words

Among comments survey participants took the time to write:

• “City council meetings are poorly placed. I would love to get involved but Tuesday at 2 p.m. assures the city only hears business owners, retired folks and those with a flexible schedule to attend. Given the perspective of politics these days, I believe this is by design to keep common folks from participation.”
• “The divide on access to services/programs and basic needs is widening. Middle income is increasingly strained and state Legislature is focused on relief for highest and lowest income earners.”
• “I like the flexibility. I don’t like that most of the work is remote. It makes it hard to communicate with coworkers and get to know them.”
• “When I started in 2021, the benefits system wouldn’t let me register for benefits because it said my same sex marriage wasn’t valid. Management and up regularly misgender me (I use they/them pronouns). The person who has committed the most microaggressions and discriminatory actions is our only HR person.”
• “The culture of fun and employee engagement never recovered from COVID.”
• “We have got to increase wages; set rental price caps; develop, enact and implement renter protections; stop with all the bars, create spaces where families are welcome but not specifically children spaces; create real public transit and incentivize environmentally conscious transportation options, repair the roads meaningfully so our cars don ‘t get eaten by potholes and we have to pay to repair our cars more frequently; do actual policy work that is going to get people to have a POSITIVE identity with Omaha.”

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/04/21/omaha-area-survey-shows-better-p...