Nebraska ranked 38th in population in the US with an estimated total of 1,729,180 in 2002, an increase of 1% since 2000. Between 1990 and 2000, Nebraska's population grew from 1,578,385 to 1,711,263, an increase of 8.4%. The population was projected to reach 1,761,000 by 2005 and 1.9 million by 2025. The population density in 2000 was 22.3 persons per sq mi.
In 2000, the median age of all Nebraskans was 35.3. In the same year, 26.3% of the populace were under age 18 while 13.6% were age 65 or older. The largest cities in 2002 were Omaha, which ranked 43rd among the nation's cities, with an estimated population of 399,357, and Lincoln, with 232,362.