Young professionals raise housing concerns as Omaha city leaders push to keep talent in town

OMAHA, Neb. —

Data from the University of Nebraska Omaha shows more than 4,000 young professionals left the state in 2023, with that number slowly rising every year.

Monday night kicked off Young Professionals Week for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. At the kickoff event, YPs shared their voices on changes they want to see in the city and heard Mayor John Ewing’s plans to keep a young and thriving community for YPs in Omaha.

“We want to encourage them to stay, and we want to focus on brain gain and look at how we can help make this the city of their dreams,” Ewing said.

Census data shows over 12,000 people moved to Nebraska from 2024 to 2025.

“We need to bring more people here. But most importantly, we need to develop our talent here,” Ewing said.

Merrick Brtek, a director for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, said she thinks it’s important for young professionals to know that their voices are being heard.

Mayor Ewing spoke about all the changes coming to the city for the younger population, like a professional women’s soccer team and more entertainment.

“I feel like they’re making a lot of changes currently. That really engages a lot of young people already. For example, they have Mahone Music Festival going on next week,” Parker Wold, an Omaha young professional, said.

But some say affordable housing is still a big concern for young professionals in the area.

“Something that I hear from my friends a lot and from other young professionals is they want to buy a home. And what does that look like,” Brtek said.

Ewing said we will see information coming out soon about the city’s new affordable housing task force. He also said while it’s important to retain all our young professionals, the city also wants to make Omaha a business environment so the city can attract young professionals from all over.