Cost of living in Nebraska

Nebraska at a glance

Median rent

$1,072

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$76,475

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$238,600

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$3,549

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

19 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

3.0%

Census ACS, DP03

Nebraska's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 10% below the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Figures from the 2024 release of the Census American Community Survey, checked September 2026. Health, hazard and price-level readings name their own release beside them.

The three most populous counties in Nebraska

These are the most populous places in Nebraska, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Douglas County

  Population

  591K

  Rent

  $1,201

  Household income

  $80,391

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $4,507

  Set as targetPlan

• Lancaster County

  Population

  327K

  Rent

  $1,085

  Household income

  $74,793

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $4,204

  Set as targetPlan

• Sarpy County

  Population

  197K

  Rent

  $1,334

  Household income

  $103,321

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $5,473

  Set as targetPlan

Nebraska, worth the trip

Admitted to the Union on March 1, 1867, as the 37th state. The Platte valley became a major migration route in the 1840s as thousands of settlers moved west to Oregon, California and Utah. The Union Pacific Railroad was completed in 1869.

• Scotts Bluff National Monument

  A bluff 800 feet above the North Platte River, a landmark on the Oregon, California and Mormon trails.

• Agate Fossil Beds National Monument

  The hills where paleontologists found full skeletons of extinct Miocene mammals in the early 1900s.

• Homestead National Historical Park

  The story of the Homestead Act of 1862, under which over 10 percent of the United States was homesteaded.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Nebraska

Current owners in Nebraska pay a median 1.49% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $3,549 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $929 in Grant County to $5,473 in Sarpy County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in Nebraska

Life expectancy

78.1 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

7.7%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

14.5%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

65

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for Nebraska as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in Nebraska

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$1.3B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$1.69

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Inland flooding

$401M of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

Side by side

Douglas County, NE is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

All 93 counties in Nebraska

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.