Nebraska is rapidly increasing its exports to markets in Asia, with destinations including Japan, South Korea, and China. Overall, Nebraska’s international trade supports more than 255,000 Nebraska jobs, with 1,850 companies exporting $8.9 billion worth of goods from the state.

• In Nebraska, 255,600 jobs were supported by international trade in 2019, representing 19.0% of all jobs in the state.^1,2
• In 2020, 1,850 companies exported goods from Nebraska of which 81% were small- and medium-sized enterprises. In 2018, 36,700 people were employed by affiliates of companies at least 50% foreign-owned.^3,4

• Nebraska exported $8.0 billion in goods to foreign markets in 2021, a 14% increase compared to 2020 driven by continued economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy.⁵
  • Mexico ($2.0 billion)
  • Canada ($1.9 billion)
  • Japan ($734 million)
  • South Korea ($697 million)
  • China ($690 million)
• Agricultural exports are important to Nebraska's' economy, totaling $9.3 billion in 2020, according to the USDA.⁶
• Since 2014, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has financed $432 million in exports from 30 companies in Nebraska.⁷
• Since 1992, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency has helped facilitate $50 million in exports from Nebraska companies.⁹

• During 2020, 3,984 international students were enrolled in Nebraska colleges and universities and contributed $111 million to the Nebraska economy.¹⁰

• Since 1961, 1,478 Peace Corps volunteers from Nebraska have served in dozens of countries overseas.¹¹

1. https://tradepartnership.com/reports/trade-and-american-jobs-the-impact-of-trade-on-u-s-and-state-level-employment-update-2020/
2. https://www.businessroundtable.org/policy-perspectives/trade-international/benefits-of-trade-data
3. https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/edb/2019/index.html
4. https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-11/imne1120.pdf
5. https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/state-economy-and-trade-factsheets
6. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets.aspx#.U2ERwbQzqX8
7. https://www.exim.gov/customer-map/
8. https://www.opic.gov/sites/default/files/docs/OPIC_local_impact.pdf
9. https://ustda.gov/ustda-success-by-state/
10. https://opendoorsdata.org/fact_sheets/
11. https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-announces-top-volunteer-producing-states-2018/