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Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.
There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.
But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.
Of course, not all suburbs of Omaha are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...
What's the best suburb of Omaha? Papillion ranks as the best suburb of Omaha for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Papillion, 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.
Note: 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 larger selection of suburbs.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Nebraska:
The 10 Best Omaha Suburbs To Live For 2022
Papillion is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Omaha area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Papillion."
Everyone here is rich; families average $90,000 a year, which is the 3rd highest in the Omaha region. And only 2.85% are out of work. Homes average more than $222,300 each.
/10
Population: 24,310
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $90,000
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on Papillion: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Bartlett is the second best 'burb we looked at near Omaha for 2022.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 4.21% of residents lack insurance, good for 4th best.
/10
Population: 40,894
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $109,980
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on Bartlett: Real Estate
Here in Gretna, 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 Gretna.
/10
Population: 5,039
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 2)
Median Income: $69,592
Unemployment Rate: 0.3%
Poverty Rate: 6.5%
More on Gretna: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Bennington ranks as the 4th best suburb of Omaha for 2022.
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: 2,075
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $92,738
Unemployment Rate: 2.7%
Poverty Rate: 4.9%
More on Bennington: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Coming in as the fifth best is La Vista.
La Vista gets kudos for having the 7th most expensive homes in the Omaha area, where houses sell for an average of $169,100. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Population: 17,081
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Income: $70,184
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 5.4%
More on La Vista: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Ralston 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 2.77% which is 4th best in the area.
According to online reports, Ralston is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Omaha area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 7,305
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Income: $60,106
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 8.3%
More on Ralston: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Ashland.
Ashland 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 23.0 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 2,834
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 1)
Median Income: $65,861
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 13.0%
More on Ashland: Real Estate | Data | Photos
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 9.62% of people lack insurance, good for 14th in the area.
/10
Population: 63,970
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 1)
Median Income: $70,647
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Poverty Rate: 9.1%
More on Bellevue: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Is 'Everything Better In Valley?'
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.
/10
Population: 2,834
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 3)
Median Income: $62,181
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 6.1%
More on Valley: Real Estate | Data | Photos
And rounding out the top ten for 2022 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.
/10
Population: 7,830
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $57,274
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 13.6%
More on Blair: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Omaha for 2022
Figuring out the best suburbs around Omaha was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- 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
Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.
FYI: 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.
And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Omaha." We're lookin' at you, Papillion. You can download the data here.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or 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 2022
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.
So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Omaha, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.
For more Nebraska reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best Omaha Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Papillion, NE | 24,310 |
| 2 | Bartlett, NE | 40,894 |
| 3 | Gretna, NE | 5,039 |
| 4 | Bennington, NE | 2,075 |
| 5 | La Vista, NE | 17,081 |
| 6 | Ralston, NE | 7,305 |
| 7 | Ashland, NE | 2,834 |
| 8 | Bellevue, NE | 63,970 |
| 9 | Valley, NE | 2,834 |
| 10 | Blair, NE | 7,830 |
| 11 | Glenwood, NE | 5,325 |
| 12 | Plattsmouth, NE | 6,453 |
| 13 | Missouri Valley, NE | 2,610 |
| 14 | Fremont, NE | 26,362 |
| 15 | Council Bluffs, NE | 62,376 |
| 16 | Carter Lake, NE | 3,799 |
