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Ham radio operators in Nebraska: new licenses by county

3,781 licensed amateur radio operators; 170 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.

At a glance · Data as of

New hams · last 30 days
5
New hams · last 12 months
170
▲ 16% vs prior 12 mo
Active licensed hams
3,781
Upgrades · 12 mo
57
Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
40
Address updates · 12 mo
49
Often a move into the area
Expiring · next 6 mo
199

About ham radio in Nebraska

New licenses are climbing in Nebraska: 170 people earned a first amateur radio license in the past 12 months, 16% more than the year before. Nebraska ranks #38 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. Lancaster County leads the state with 56 new hams. Technicians make up 45% of the state’s licensees, below the U.S. average of 48%, a sign of an experienced community with many HF operators. 57 operators upgraded their license in the past year, the moment many buy their first HF rig.

New hams by month

New hams per month in Nebraska, October 2025 to September 2026 170 in total. Highest: 35 in May 2026. Lowest: 0 in October 2025. Up 16% from the prior 12 months. Oct 2025: 0 new hams 0 Oct 2025 Nov 2025: 7 new hams 7 Nov Dec 2025: 16 new hams 16 Dec Jan 2026: 27 new hams 27 Jan 2026 Feb 2026: 12 new hams 12 Feb Mar 2026: 11 new hams 11 Mar Apr 2026: 25 new hams 25 Apr May 2026: 35 new hams 35 May Jun 2026: 13 new hams 13 Jun Jul 2026: 9 new hams 9 Jul Aug 2026: 9 new hams 9 Aug Sep 2026: 6 new hams 6 Sep
Complete calendar months only, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. The current month is left out until it ends.
Show data table
New hams per month in Nebraska
MonthNew hams
Oct 20250
Nov 20257
Dec 202516
Jan 202627
Feb 202612
Mar 202611
Apr 202625
May 202635
Jun 202613
Jul 20269
Aug 20269
Sep 20266
Total170

License classes

Active licensees in Nebraska by license class, compared with U.S.
ClassHamsShareU.S.
Technician 1,71445%48%
General 1,04528%25%
Amateur Extra 76020%21%
Advanced 1795%3%
Novice / Other 832%2%

Bar = Nebraska share · Tick = U.S. share

In the past 12 months, 33 operators upgraded to General and 18 to Amateur Extra.

How Nebraska compares

#38 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months

Rates per 1,000 active licensees
Per 1,000 active hamsNebraskaU.S.
New hams, past 12 months45.032.3
Upgrades, past 12 months15.114.7
Expiring, next 6 months52.657.3

170 new hams in Nebraska this past year. Get next month’s list free.

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Top 6 Nebraska counties for new hams

Scroll sideways for more columns →

#CountyNew hams 12 moChange vs prior yearActive hamsNew per 1,000
1Lancaster County56▲ 167%80769.4
2Douglas County38▲ 6%80547.2
3Sarpy County17▼ 37%55330.7
4Saunders County6—55109.1
5Buffalo County4—8646.5
6Cass County2—9521.1

— in Change means fewer than 10 new hams the year before.

All Nebraska counties

6 counties with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.

Smaller Nebraska counties

These 87 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.

Show all 87 smaller counties
CountyActive hamsNew hams · 12 mo
Adams County641
Antelope County131
Arthur County00
Banner County20
Blaine County00
Boone County140
Box Butte County210
Boyd County20
Brown County80
Burt County60
Butler County110
Cedar County90
Chase County30
Cherry County121
Cheyenne County321
Clay County120
Colfax County100
Cuming County50
Custer County202
Dakota County370
Dawes County280
Dawson County213
Deuel County20
Dixon County141
Dodge County710
Dundy County20
Fillmore County90
Franklin County80
Frontier County60
Furnas County140
Gage County451
Garden County50
Garfield County30
Gosper County30
Grant County10
Greeley County10
Hall County834
Hamilton County111
Harlan County40
Hayes County10
Hitchcock County81
Holt County160
Hooker County30
Howard County50
Jefferson County210
Johnson County70
Kearney County150
Keith County161
Keya Paha County00
Kimball County80
Knox County170
Lincoln County741
Logan County00
Loup County20
Madison County521
McPherson County20
Merrick County71
Morrill County50
Nance County30
Nemaha County201
Nuckolls County50
Otoe County513
Pawnee County60
Perkins County20
Phelps County180
Pierce County10
Platte County380
Polk County150
Red Willow County220
Richardson County140
Rock County70
Saline County310
Scotts Bluff County651
Seward County463
Sheridan County80
Sherman County90
Sioux County20
Stanton County131
Thayer County81
Thomas County00
Thurston County30
Valley County80
Washington County481
Wayne County170
Webster County30
Wheeler County00
York County213

Neighboring states

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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).

Questions about hams in Nebraska

How many ham radio operators are in Nebraska?

3,781 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Nebraska as of Oct 1, 2026.

How many new hams were licensed in Nebraska last year?

170 people in Nebraska received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.

Which Nebraska counties have the most new hams?

In the past 12 months: Lancaster County (56), Douglas County (38) and Sarpy County (17).

Where does this data come from?

From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.

Can I see the names or call signs on this page?

No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.

About this data

Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.

How we count

  • New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
  • Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
  • Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
  • Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
  • PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.

100% of Nebraska licensees could be matched to a county.