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About Norfolk

Norfolk is located in the Elkhorn River Valley of northeast Nebraska, a little more than 100 miles from Omaha. With a population of roughly 25,000, Norfolk is the state’s eighth-largest city.

The economic center for an area encompassing six counties, Norfolk is a hub of manufacturing — with more than 4,000 people employed in the industry — as well as farming, education, and retail.

Norfolk’s government and community leaders are actively involved and highly supportive of the changing landscape of workforce, economic development, and retention efforts. That support is visible with the revitalization of downtown Norfolk and other programs that are currently in place, such as the Northeast Nebraska Growing Together Initiative. Additionally, a group of progressive tech leaders in the area are backing an effort to guide the growth of the city’s tech economy, to increase and improve the tech workforce throughout northeast Nebraska by 2030.

Community partners

  • The City of Norfolk and the Norfolk Area Economic Development Council represent a collaborative effort with Madison County that strives to promote, facilitate, and cultivate economic development projects and initiatives throughout the area. These organizations connect the chamber of commerce, tourism bureau, and workforce partners with government agencies and utilities to spur economic vitality.
  • Intersect Coworking and Incubator is a coworking community in the heart of Norfolk that gives workers the spaces and tools they need to succeed, a like-minded community of founders, remote workers, startups, and freelancers with 24/7 access to a dedicated office or private desk, fast internet, and the coffee needed to fuel dreams. Intersect’s incubator program exists to help entrepreneurs on a 1-to-1 basis, with a curriculum intended to provide early-stage companies the fundamentals needed to build their startup.

Joining the Rural Innovation Network could ignite a transformative spark in Norfolk, breathing life into its tech ecosystem and illuminating a pathway towards boundless innovation. With the power of collaboration, knowledge exchange, and resources, Norfolk could become a beacon of technological advancement, creating new opportunities and propelling the region towards a prosperous future.

Emma Bennett, Invest Nebraska

Explore our Network

Today, these local leaders are focused on educating and training local residents in digital skills (especially those traditionally excluded from the tech industry), employing them in new economy jobs, and empowering them to launch startups that will drive a prosperous 21st-century economy. Diverse in geography, economic origin, and demographics, these communities represent the full spectrum of rural America.