Short answer
The Omaha, NE-IA metro had 3,254 construction establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 31,751 people with $2.24 billion in annual payroll, according to Census County Business Patterns. Douglas County has 1,838 of them and Sarpy County 703; the three Iowa counties have 314. Nine in ten have fewer than 20 employees. Contractors working on the Iowa side must register with Iowa's licensing department once they earn $2,000 a year from construction.
- 3,254 construction establishments and 31,751 employees in the Omaha metro in 2023, with average pay of $70,595.
- Douglas and Sarpy counties hold 78.1% of establishments; Pottawattamie, Mills and Harrison counties in Iowa hold 9.6%.
- Foundation, structure and exterior contractors are 18.8% of establishments, against 13.0% nationally.
- In 2024 the metro permitted more apartment units (3,543 in buildings of five or more) than single-family homes (3,524).
- Iowa requires contractor registration from $2,000 a year in construction income, and out-of-state contractors file a $25,000 bond.
On this page
- The Omaha construction market in one table
- Nebraska and Iowa, county by county
- A trades market: structure, exterior and finish work
- Firm size, and what the Census Bureau withholds
- Permits: apartments nearly matched houses
- Licensing across the river
- Vetting an Omaha contractor
- Prospecting Omaha contractors
- Where to find names
- Sources
- Questions people ask
This report is for people trying to find, compare or sell to construction companies in the Omaha area: homeowners and businesses hiring a contractor, general contractors finding subcontractors, job seekers, and suppliers and B2B sellers planning a territory across Nebraska and western Iowa.
The Omaha construction market in one table
US Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, construction sector (NAICS 23), Omaha, NE-IA Metro Area (CBSA 36540):
| Measure | Omaha metro, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Construction establishments | 3,254 |
| Employees (week of March 12) | 31,751 |
| Annual payroll | $2,241,470,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 9.8 |
| Average annual pay | $70,595 |
| Share of US construction establishments | 0.40% (of 814,557) |
The average establishment, at 9.8 employees, is close to the US figure of 9.4. These are counts of establishments (locations) with paid employees: a contractor with a shop in La Vista and another in Council Bluffs counts twice, and self-employed tradespeople with no payroll aren't counted.
Nebraska and Iowa, county by county
| County | State | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas County | Nebraska | 1,838 | 19,357 |
| Sarpy County | Nebraska | 703 | 8,615 |
| Pottawattamie County | Iowa | 217 | 1,462 |
| Washington County | Nebraska | 162 | 720 |
| Cass County | Nebraska | 130 | 487 |
| Saunders County | Nebraska | 107 | 669 |
| Mills County | Iowa | 51 | 206 |
| Harrison County | Iowa | 46 | 235 |
The eight counties add up to the metro's 3,254 establishments. Douglas County, home to Omaha, has 56.5% of them. Sarpy County, to the south, has fewer firms but larger ones: 12.3 employees per establishment against Douglas County's 10.5. The Iowa side, led by Council Bluffs in Pottawattamie County, has 314 establishments and 1,903 employees, about 6% of the metro's construction jobs.
A trades market: structure, exterior and finish work
| Type of work (NAICS) | Establishments | Share in Omaha | Share in US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors (238) | 2,276 | 69.9% | 64.0% |
| Foundation, structure and exterior (2381) | 612 | 18.8% | 13.0% |
| Poured concrete foundation and structure (238110) | 147 | 4.5% | 2.9% |
| Roofing (238160) | 144 | 4.4% | 3.1% |
| Building finishing: drywall, flooring, painting (2383) | 679 | 20.9% | 15.7% |
| Electrical, plumbing and HVAC (2382) | 676 | 20.8% | 24.9% |
| Building construction (236) | 823 | 25.3% | 31.3% |
| Residential remodelers (236118) | 466 | 14.3% | 16.6% |
| Commercial and institutional builders (236220) | 125 | 3.8% | 4.8% |
| Heavy and civil engineering (237) | 155 | 4.8% | 4.7% |
US shares are calculated from the CBP 2023 state files summed across all states. Omaha has proportionally more concrete, roofing and finishing firms and fewer general building contractors. The general contractors it does have are substantial: the 125 commercial and institutional builders employ 2,563 people (20.5 each), and the 33 highway, street and bridge contractors employ 900. By contrast the 144 roofing firms average 5.8 employees and the 84 siding contractors 2.7, so the exterior trades are many small shops.
Firm size, and what the Census Bureau withholds
| Employees per establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 2,118 |
| 5 to 9 | 499 |
| 10 to 19 | 298 |
| 20 to 49 | 226 |
| 50 to 99 | 71 |
| 100 to 249 | 34 |
| 250 to 499 | 5 |
| 500 to 999 | Not published |
| 1,000 or more | Not published |
The Census Bureau doesn't publish the two largest size classes for this metro, to avoid disclosing individual employers. The 100-or-more band is the total less the smaller bands: 42 establishments, which leaves 3 with 500 or more employees. In three bands, 2,915 establishments (89.6%) have 1 to 19 employees, 297 (9.1%) have 20 to 99 and 42 (1.3%) have 100 or more.
Permits: apartments nearly matched houses
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey counts new housing units authorized in the metro:
| Units authorized | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-family | 3,524 | 3,338 | down 5.3% |
| 2 to 4 units | 147 | 199 | up 35.4% |
| 5 or more units | 3,543 | 2,762 | down 22.0% |
| Total | 7,214 | 6,299 | down 12.7% |
In 2024 the metro permitted more units in apartment buildings than single-family houses; in the Kansas City and Des Moines metros the same year, single-family led by a wide margin. Apartment permits fell back in 2025 while house permits held up better. For a trade contractor, those are two different customer lists: apartment work comes through a few general contractors, house work through many builders.
Licensing across the river
| Where | What applies | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa (Pottawattamie, Mills, Harrison counties) | Contractor registration for anyone earning at least $2,000 a year from construction; contractors based outside Iowa generally file a $25,000 bond, and an Iowa branch office doesn't exempt them | Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) |
| Iowa plumbing and mechanical work | A separate contractor license from the Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board | DIAL |
| Nebraska electrical work | Electrical contractor, journeyman and fire alarm installer licenses from the State Electrical Division | Nebraska State Electrical Division licensee search |
| Nebraska and City of Omaha registrations | Nebraska's Department of Labor and the City of Omaha run their own contractor programs | Check with each directly |
The bond rule matters for Omaha firms: a Nebraska contractor taking a job in Council Bluffs is an out-of-state contractor under Iowa's registration program. The Nebraska Department of Labor and City of Omaha permit sites didn't load for us on 30 October 2026, so we haven't summarized their rules here; confirm them with each office before you rely on a registration.
Vetting an Omaha contractor
- Check the registration for the state the job is in. On the Iowa side, search the contractor in Iowa's registration lookup. In Nebraska, ask for its registration and any city trade licenses.
- Check the trade licenses of whoever does the electrical work in the Nebraska State Electrical Division's search.
- Ask for three recent jobs of the same type in the same county, with addresses, and drive by one.
- Get certificates of insurance for general liability and workers' compensation, and call the agent to confirm them.
- Agree on a payment schedule tied to finished stages, not dates, and get lien waivers from the main subcontractors and suppliers.
Prospecting Omaha contractors
- Pick a side of the market. The trades (2,276 establishments) and the general contractors (823) buy different things; most products fit one or the other.
- Use county as the first filter. Douglas and Sarpy hold 2,541 establishments; treat the five smaller counties as a second pass.
- Match the contact to the size. At the 2,915 establishments under 20 employees, the owner buys. At the 339 with 20 or more, add an operations manager, estimator or office manager. Our guide to building a prospect list covers the mechanics.
- Time the outreach to the season. Exterior trades book their year in late winter and run flat out once the ground thaws; reach them before spring.
Illustrative example. The company, spend figures and share are invented; the establishment counts are CBP 2023.
Prairie Edge Supply (prairieedge.example) distributes roofing, siding and gutters. Its targets are the metro's 144 roofing contractors, 84 siding contractors and 466 residential remodelers: 694 establishments. It assumes the roofing and siding firms spend $180,000 a year on materials and the remodelers $60,000. That's $41.0 million from the 228 exterior contractors and $28.0 million from remodelers, a $69.0 million market. A 4% share is $2.8 million a year. Ranking 694 small firms by fit is the slow part; Bebop researches each one and explains why it fits.
Where to find names
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Iowa contractor registration lookup | Registered contractors working in Iowa, including Omaha firms with Iowa jobs |
| Nebraska State Electrical Division licensee search | Licensed electrical contractors and electricians |
| AGC Nebraska Building Chapter member directory | General, specialty and associate members of the commercial construction chapter, which represents more than 140 firms |
| Greater Omaha Chamber directory | Chamber members by category across the eight-county region |
| Census Building Permits Survey | Monthly and annual housing permits by metro, county and place |
No SEC-registered listed construction company has its business address in the Omaha metro. For other industries here, see companies in Omaha and the Omaha concrete companies report.
Next step: for the method behind a full contractor list, read the construction companies industry guide.
Sources
- County Business Patterns 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Building Permits Survey, annual CBSA data for 2025 (cbsa2512y), US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Building Permits Survey, annual CBSA data for 2024 (cbsa2412y), US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Contractor registration, Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, accessed 30 October 2026
- Nebraska State Electrical Division, State of Nebraska, accessed 30 October 2026
- AGC Nebraska Building Chapter, Associated General Contractors Nebraska Building Chapter, accessed 30 October 2026
- Greater Omaha Chamber, Greater Omaha Chamber, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many construction companies are in Omaha?
The US Census Bureau counted 3,254 construction establishments with paid employees in the Omaha, NE-IA metro area in 2023, employing 31,751 people. Douglas County had 1,838 and Sarpy County 703, and the three Iowa counties in the metro had 314. The count is of locations, not companies, and it leaves out self-employed contractors with no employees.
Does a contractor need to register in Iowa to work in Council Bluffs?
Yes, if it earns at least $2,000 a year from construction. Iowa's Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing requires contractor registration, renewed every year, and contractors whose principal place of business is outside Iowa generally must file a $25,000 bond. Having an Iowa branch office doesn't exempt an out-of-state contractor from the bond. Plumbing and mechanical contractors need a separate license.
How do I check an electrician's license in Nebraska?
Use the Nebraska State Electrical Division's licensee search. The division licenses electrical contractors, journeyman electricians, residential journeyman wiremen, apprentices and fire alarm installers. Check that the license is current and that the name matches the company on your contract, and ask the contractor which permits it will pull for the job.
What kinds of construction companies are most common in Omaha?
Specialty trade contractors make up 69.9% of the metro's 3,254 construction establishments. Building finishing firms (679) and electrical, plumbing and HVAC firms (676) are the largest groups, followed by foundation, structure and exterior contractors (612), including 147 concrete and 144 roofing firms. There are 466 residential remodelers and 125 commercial and institutional builders.
Is Omaha building more apartments or houses?
Both, in near-equal numbers recently. The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey shows 3,543 units in buildings of five or more permitted in the Omaha metro in 2024, against 3,524 single-family homes. In 2025 apartment units fell to 2,762 while single-family permits were 3,338, for a total of 6,299 new housing units.