While big cities like Omaha offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Omaha. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Omaha without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Omaha are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Omaha area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Omaha for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Omaha? Gretna ranks as the best suburb of Omaha for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Gretna, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Omaha ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Nebraska:
The 10 Best Omaha Suburbs To Live For 2024
/10
Population: 9,019
Median Income: $117,553
Unemployment Rate: 1.2%
Poverty Rate: 3.0%
More on Gretna: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Gretna is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Omaha area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Gretna.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $117,553 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Omaha region. And only 1.16% are out of work. Homes average more than $416,052 each.
/10
Population: 40,829
Median Income: $126,555
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 2.4%
More on Bartlett: Data | Real Estate
Bartlett is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Omaha for 2024.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 5.02% of residents lack insurance, good for 7th best.
/10
Population: 24,016
Median Income: $104,608
Unemployment Rate: 2.7%
Poverty Rate: 4.7%
More on Papillion: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in Papillion, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Omaha metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Papillion.
4. Bennington, NE
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Population: 2,432
Median Income: $94,444
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 3.9%
More on Bennington: Real Estate
Bennington ranks as the 4th best suburb of Omaha for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Bennington and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 16,713
Median Income: $77,748
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 5.2%
More on La Vista: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is La Vista.
La Vista gets kudos for having the 9th most expensive homes in the Omaha area, where houses sell for an average of $286,712. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Ashland is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 4.95%.
According to online reports, Ashland is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Omaha area, meaning you need to get in soon.
7. Valley, NE
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Population: 3,032
Median Income: $80,319
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 5.0%
More on Valley: Crime | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Valley.
Valley schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 16.2 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
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Population: 63,336
Median Income: $79,839
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 8.4%
More on Bellevue: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Bellevue is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 7.99% of people lack insurance, good for 13th in the area.
/10
Population: 5,128
Median Income: $65,833
Unemployment Rate: 7.1%
Poverty Rate: 8.8%
More on Glenwood: Data | Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In Glenwood?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
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Population: 7,813
Median Income: $74,058
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 12.4%
More on Blair: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Blair.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Omaha for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Omaha was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Omaha.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 16 suburbs to evaluate around Omaha.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 16 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Omaha.” We’re lookin’ at you, Gretna.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Omaha suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Omaha ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Omaha are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Omaha but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Nebraska reading, check out:
Table: Best Omaha Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gretna, NE | 9,019 | $117,553 | $416,052 |
| 2 | Bartlett, NE | 40,829 | $126,555 | $383,920 |
| 3 | Papillion, NE | 24,016 | $104,608 | $379,982 |
| 4 | Bennington, NE | 2,432 | $94,444 | $398,728 |
| 5 | La Vista, NE | 16,713 | $77,748 | $286,712 |
| 6 | Ashland, NE | 3,130 | $78,966 | $381,241 |
| 7 | Valley, NE | 3,032 | $80,319 | $409,091 |
| 8 | Bellevue, NE | 63,336 | $79,839 | $270,139 |
| 9 | Glenwood, NE | 5,128 | $65,833 | $288,271 |
| 10 | Blair, NE | 7,813 | $74,058 | $322,377 |
| 11 | Plattsmouth, NE | 6,585 | $58,989 | $284,852 |
| 12 | Ralston, NE | 6,462 | $61,554 | $239,447 |
| 13 | Fremont, NE | 27,230 | $62,226 | $227,388 |
| 14 | Missouri Valley, NE | 2,692 | $61,480 | $206,369 |
| 15 | Council Bluffs, NE | 62,670 | $61,181 | $196,527 |
| 16 | Carter Lake, NE | 3,780 | $64,479 | $171,801 |
