In 2022, as the nation emerged from a pandemic, Douglas County’s gross domestic product grew 9.2%—the most of any county with at least 500,000 residents, according to a recent report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The county, home of Omaha, had never previously placed in the top 50 since the agency began recording the metric in 2018.

The Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area trailed just one U.S. city in economic growth in 2022. What industry drove that growth? Hint: The answer is visible in the Omaha skyline.

Learn what’s behind the economic growth spurt in this week’s feature on SPN.