The 10 Best Suburbs In Nebraska For 2025


The best suburbs in Nebraska are Gretna and Ceresco for 2025 based on Saturday Night Science.

Are you sick of being a city slicker?

Do you long for life in suburban Nebraska? Where you can drive an overly-large vehicle to the store for groceries and schlep the kids around to practices and appointments without worrying about a parking space.

We do, too.

If you wanted to move out to the suburbs of Lincoln, where would you go? And how would you decide on the ranking factors to help you pick which Nebraska suburb was best?

No worries. We got it all figured out here using Saturday Night Science.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


These are the 10 best suburbs in the Cornhusker State

  1. Gretna
  2. Ceresco
  3. Papillion
  4. Hickman
  5. Waverly
  6. Valley
  7. Milford
  8. La Vista
  9. Wahoo
  10. Ashland

Gretna is the place to be when it comes to being a soccer mom in suburban Nebraska.

So if you’re thinking of packing up your mini van and making a move to a quiet place to live in Nebraska, we’ve got you covered.

Keep on reading for a detailed methodology. Or, check out the best places to live in Nebraska and the best places to raise a family in Nebraska.

Best Suburbs In Nebraska For 2025

Gretna, NE

Source: Wikipedia User Jared Winkler | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 9,117
Median Income: $118,765
Average Home Price: $326,000
More on Gretna: Data

Gretna is located 13 miles west of Omaha.

2. Ceresco

Ceresco, NE

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,355
Median Income: $103,906
Average Home Price: $186,300
More on Ceresco:

Ceresco is located 17 miles north of Lincoln.

Papillion, NE

Source: Wikipedia User Atomic Energy505 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 24,063
Median Income: $109,602
Average Home Price: $290,900
More on Papillion: Data

Papillion is located 7 miles south of Omaha.

4. Hickman

Hickman, NE

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,834
Median Income: $104,219
Average Home Price: $294,200
More on Hickman:

Hickman is located 13 miles south of Lincoln.

5. Waverly

Waverly, NE

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 4,363
Median Income: $110,000
Average Home Price: $290,000
More on Waverly:

Waverly is located 10 miles east of Lincoln.

6. Valley

Valley, NE

Source: Wikipedia User Paltron | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 3,113
Median Income: $106,750
Average Home Price: $515,100
More on Valley:

Valley is located 16 miles west of Omaha.

7. Milford

Milford, NE

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,656
Median Income: $80,997
Average Home Price: $225,200
More on Milford:

Milford is located 19 miles west of Lincoln.

La Vista, NE

Source: Wikipedia User Paltron | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 16,594
Median Income: $78,145
Average Home Price: $244,900
More on La Vista: Data

La Vista is located 5 miles south of Omaha.

9. Wahoo

Wahoo, NE

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 4,885
Median Income: $81,544
Average Home Price: $227,100
More on Wahoo:

Wahoo is located 28 miles north of Lincoln.

10. Ashland

Ashland, NE

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,083
Median Income: $80,948
Average Home Price: $229,100
More on Ashland:

Ashland is located 22 miles east of Lincoln.

Methodology:How we crunched the suburb numbers for the Cornhusker State

We have to use Saturday Night Science and look at several metrics to give you the best suburbs in Nebraska. We want to measure the type of place around major cities that people arguing at a bar would say makes it the “best suburb.”

First, we had to define a suburb. Using U.S. Census data produced for the state of Nebraska, we looked at every town with at least 1,000 residents, and within 30 miles of a city that’s over 200,000 people.

In other words, suburbs.

We paid particular attention to the following criteria:

  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Population Density (Higher is Better)
  • Unemployment Rates
  • Commute Time
  • Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty Rates

We ranked each suburb in Nebraska across these criteria from one to 28, with one being the best.

We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the town posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Suburb To Live In Nebraska.”

The result is some of the safest, quietest, and ideal places to live in Nebraska.

Read on to see why Gretna is the ‘burb with the most, while Crete is probably not the best place to live in Nebraska.

Summary: There You Have It – The Best Suburbs In Nebraska

If you’re measuring the locations in Nebraska where there are lots to do, and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.

The best suburbs in Nebraska are Gretna, Ceresco, Papillion, Hickman, Waverly, Valley, Milford, La Vista, Wahoo, and Ashland.

Here’s a look at the worst suburbs in Nebraska according to the data:

  1. Crete
  2. Weeping Water
  3. Wilber

For more Nebraska reading, check out:

The Best Suburbs In Nebraska

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Price
1 Gretna 9,117 $118,765 $326,000
2 Ceresco 1,355 $103,906 $186,300
3 Papillion 24,063 $109,602 $290,900
4 Hickman 2,834 $104,219 $294,200
5 Waverly 4,363 $110,000 $290,000
6 Valley 3,113 $106,750 $515,100
7 Milford 2,656 $80,997 $225,200
8 La Vista 16,594 $78,145 $244,900
9 Wahoo 4,885 $81,544 $227,100
10 Ashland 3,083 $80,948 $229,100
11 Seward 7,665 $70,000 $232,500
12 Arlington 1,437 $95,278 $222,500
13 Yutan 1,535 $89,531 $184,900
14 Eagle 1,089 $76,500 $161,800
15 Louisville 1,393 $97,115 $204,700
16 Fort Calhoun 1,246 $96,071 $271,600
17 Springfield 1,620 $92,153 $237,300
18 Bennet 1,174 $100,417 $252,400
19 Bellevue 64,355 $87,343 $230,800
20 Bennington 2,417 $98,375 $337,600
21 Blair 7,868 $76,292 $211,000
22 Plattsmouth 6,680 $64,296 $171,900
23 Ralston 6,445 $65,557 $215,800
24 Fremont 27,321 $67,179 $194,400
25 Syracuse 1,964 $70,625 $190,000
26 Wilber 2,178 $80,227 $154,700
27 Weeping Water 1,244 $67,083 $191,600
28 Crete 7,521 $76,258 $203,900
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.