The latest Census data raises new concerns about the brain drain in Nebraska because the state has been losing twice as many people who hold at least a bachelor's degree in recent years.
Between 2011 and 2015, the state saw a net loss of 11,640 people with at least a bachelor's degree. That's up from 5,520 during the previous five-year period, which included the Great Recession.
David Drozd with the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Center for Public Affairs Research says the state now ranks 44th in the rate at which it is losing residents with college degrees.
Between 2006 and 2010, Nebraska ranked 34th. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the increase in people with degrees leaving the state is likely related to the economic recovery since 2009.
