LINCOLN - Nebraska's rural economy is showing signs of life. That's one upshot of the December edition of the Rural Mainstreet Index, a report compiled by Creighton University economist Ernie Goss.

The Index represents an early snapshot of rural economies that are heavily agriculture- and energy-dependent. It produces a score ranging from 0 to 100 for a 10-state region in the Midwest and West. It also assigns scores to each individual state. A score of 50 is "growth-neutral," meaning anything above a 50 signifies growth.

Both the region-wide score and the Nebraska score improved from November to December, and both scores were above growth-neutral. The regional score jumped from 44 in November to 50.1 in December. The Nebraska-specific score jumped from 49.2 in November to a region-leading 54.2 in December. The region-wide score was above 50 for just the second time in 2025.

The survey captures data about 200 rural communities with an average population of 1,300. Bank presidents throughout Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming contribute information.

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