Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers 100.4 square miles with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the state's 2nd most populous city and the 73rd-largest in the United States. Lincoln is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area in southeastern Nebraska, the Lincoln Metropolitan and Lincoln-Beatrice Combined Statistical Areas.