Lincoln is the capital of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers 100.4 square miles and had an estimated population of 294,757 in 2023. It is the state's second-most populous city and the 71st-largest in the United States. Lincoln is the economic and cultural anchor of the Lincoln Metropolitan and Lincoln-Beatrice Combined Statistical Areas, home to 361,921 people.