Nebraska' safest places offer some of the lowest crime rates in the country.
In fact, Nebraska's state-wide violent and property crime rates come in slightly better than the national average. But the state still has some relatively dangerous cities, so it's important to understand the statistics before you move.
So we compiled a list of the safest places to live in Nebraska for 2025 before you pack the minivan.
How did we determine Nebraska's safest places? We consulted the numbers from the FBI for property and violent crimes per capita for every place with over 5,000 residents. In total, we analyzed 30 cities.
We discovered that the Cornhusker State has safe places for every type of person. For instance, if you want a safe college town, choose York, Bellevue is a safe choice for singles, and if you don't have a budget, you should give Gretna a look.
Want to know where the top ten safest places in Nebraska are for 2025? You're going to have to keep reading.
Where should one start in a state that's divided into 93 counties and 530 cities and/or towns? You should start at Nebraska's safest place for 2025. So, what city is the safest place to live in Nebraska? According to the most recent FBI data, the safest place to live in the Cornhusker State is Plattsmouth.
To see how your favorite city ranked, take a look below.
For more reading on safe places to live in and around Nebraska, check out:
Population: 6,879 Violent Crimes Per 100k: 14 (safest) Property Crimes Per 100k: 755 (sixth safest) Murders: 0 Murders Per 100k: 0 More on Plattsmouth:Data | Real Estate
Population: 7,664 Violent Crimes Per 100k: 78 (fifth safest) Property Crimes Per 100k: 652 (fourth safest) Murders: 0 Murders Per 100k: 0 More on Seward:Data | Real Estate
Overall SnackAbility
9 /10
Seward really blew the competition away to earn the top spot of safest city in Nebraska. With the fifth safest rate of violent crime and the fourth safest rate of property crime in the state, Seward has the safest streets anywhere in the Cornhusker State. Violent crime is about nine times less common in Seward than in your average American city. Not to mention the less than 1% chance of being the victim of a property crime in a year's time.
Not sold? Do you find Seward lacking in eccentricity? Then you haven't seen the World's Largest Time Capsule, the work of one local celebrity. In Seward, both your possessions and miscellanea from the 1970's will be well-preserved
Seward is a western suburb of the state's capital, Lincoln.
3. Wahoo
Source: Public domain
Population: 5,040 Violent Crimes Per 100k: 99 (ninth safest) Property Crimes Per 100k: 535 (second safest) Murders: 0 Murders Per 100k: 0 More on Wahoo:Real Estate
Source: Wikipedia User Atomic Energy505 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Population: 23,597 Violent Crimes Per 100k: 33 (second safest) Property Crimes Per 100k: 1,004 (11th safest) Murders: 0 Murders Per 100k: 0 More on Papillion:Data | Real Estate
Overall SnackAbility
9.5 /10
In Nebraska, Papillion is celebrated as the fourth safest city for 2025, with impressive ranks of second safest in violent crime and 11th safest in property crime. Recording just 8 violent incidents, it stands out as a low-risk area for both violent and property crimes.
As a suburb of Omaha, located in Sarpy County, Papillion has a history dating back to the 1870s. Comprehensive policing strategies bolster the safety records within this historical railroad-linked suburb.
Population: 12,272 Violent Crimes Per 100k: 81 (sixth safest) Property Crimes Per 100k: 823 (seventh safest) Murders: 1 Murders Per 100k: 8 More on Beatrice:Data | Real Estate
Overall SnackAbility
6 /10
It is easy to forget just how much blood, sweat and tears went into the transformation of the western part of the United States. Luckily, in Beatrice, you can visit the Homestead National Monument of America and pay homage to the men and women who helped make it what it is today.
And while you are there, do not fret about whether your car is still in the parking lot or not. In 2024, just 10 went missing in this city, an incredibly low number for a population of 12,272. If your main concern is personal safety, those odds are in your favor too. You have a one in 1,227 chance of being the victim of a violent crime here. So yeah, you could say life in Beatrice is a lot cushier now than it was during the days of the frontier.
Population: 6,529 Violent Crimes Per 100k: 122 (12th safest) Property Crimes Per 100k: 336 (safest) Murders: 1 Murders Per 100k: 15 More on Schuyler:Data | Real Estate
Overall SnackAbility
8 /10
You won't hear any foul-mouthed fourth-graders at South Park in Schuyler, Nebraska. You also won't find any robbers; Schuyler had the safest rate of property crime in all of Nebraska. With only 38 property crimes reported in the last year of available data, Schuyler experienced roughly four times less property crime than the average American city. There was also one violent crime per month, so it's not exactly like Schuyler's only on this list for its lack of burglars.
Schuyler is just 20 minutes east of Columbus, and just an hour and some change outside of Omaha and Lincoln.
Population: 7,200 Violent Crimes Per 100k: 41 (third safest) Property Crimes Per 100k: 1,041 (12th safest) Murders: 0 Murders Per 100k: 0 More on Mccook:Data | Real Estate
Overall SnackAbility
6 /10
Did our seventh safest city in Nebraska for 2025, McCook, make the list because it's in the middle of a bunch of cornfields? Probably. Most people can't point to it on a map, so we're sure it's difficult for bad guys to find, too.
But, this city with a little over 7,200 residents in Red Willow County has earned its spot. They scored an 8/10 for both education and safety.
They should be called 'The Best City to Live in Nebraska' because all is crazy safe in the land where corn outnumbers people.
Population: 24,595 Violent Crimes Per 100k: 85 (seventh safest) Property Crimes Per 100k: 927 (ninth safest) Murders: 0 Murders Per 100k: 0 More on Columbus:Data | Real Estate
Overall SnackAbility
7 /10
Located in Platte County, Columbus is the largest city to make this list.
The city experienced about one property crime per day and two violent crimes per month. Both types of crime are infrequent enough to land Columbus in the top ten statewide. So don't fret if you misplace your wallet at Pawnee Plunge Water Park; chances are it's floating in the water, not in the pocket of some thief.
Population: 6,232 Violent Crimes Per 100k: 128 (15th safest) Property Crimes Per 100k: 545 (third safest) Murders: 0 Murders Per 100k: 0 More on Wayne:Data | Real Estate
Overall SnackAbility
6 /10
Wayne, serving as the county seat of Wayne County, spans just 2.21 square miles and maintains a tight-knit atmosphere with its modest 6,232 residents. The city's 8 violent crimes, featuring 0 murders and 4 rapes, contribute to its low violent crime rate and position as the 15th safest in violent crimes per capita statewide.
Property crimes are rare, with only 34 incidents reported, reinforcing Wayne's status as the ninth safest spot in the state for 2025.
Population: 16,205 Violent Crimes Per 100k: 49 (fourth safest) Property Crimes Per 100k: 1,184 (15th safest) Murders: 0 Murders Per 100k: 0 More on La Vista:Data | Real Estate
Overall SnackAbility
8.5 /10
With three breweries in a city of only 5 square miles, you'd better believe that La Vista is a safe place to sit down for a pint. Luckily, La Vista folks aren't overly-rowdy drinkers. In fact, with the fourth safest rate of violent crime and the 15th safest rate of property crime in Nebraska, La Vista residents seem mellowed out by all that good grog. La Vista also got a 9/10 score on our overall snackability score with solid numbers in every category.
Methodology: How we calculated the safest cities in Nebraska for 2025
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in Nebraska are the safest, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI's most recent crime report in Nebraska.
Violent crimes per capita (murders, assaults, rapes, armed robberies)
Property crimes per capita (thefts, burglaries, motor vehicle thefts)
For example, there were 53 crimes committed in Plattsmouth, with a reported population of 6,879. That means the number of crimes per capita is 0.0077, which translates into a 1 in 129 chance of being the victim of a crime.
We only looked at Nebraska cities that have populations of more than 5,000. This filter left us with 30 of the biggest cities in Nebraska to rank.
We ranked each city for each criterion from 1 to 30 where 1 in any particular category is the safest.
Next, we averaged each place's two criteria to create a Safety Index. We crowned the place with the lowest overall Safety Score, "The Safest Place In Nebraska," with any ties going to the bigger city.
The safest city in Nebraska, based on our criteria, is Plattsmouth. The most dangerous city in Nebraska? Scottsbluff, where residents had a 1 in 29 chance of being the victim of a crime.
This article has been update for 2025. This report marks our tenth time ranking the safest places to live in Nebraska. All the data comes from the FBI's Crime In The USA 2024 report.
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.