The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Cornhusker State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.
While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.
We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Nebraska have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.
A recent study we published found that Nebraska is the 15th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 102.
But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Nebraska are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.
#1 dumbest in Nebraska
Located in
Colfax County, Nebraska
Schuyler is a city in Colfax County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,211 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Colfax County. The city is named after former Vice President of the United States, Schuyler Colfax.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 dumbest in Nebraska
Located in
Dawson County, Nebraska
Lexington is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 10,230 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Dawson County. Lexington is located in southern Nebraska, on the Platte River, southeast of North Platte. It sits along the route of U.S. Route 30 and the Union Pacific Railroad. In the 1860s it was the location of a stop along the Pony Express.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 dumbest in Nebraska
Located in
Saline County, Nebraska
Crete is a city in Saline County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,960 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 dumbest in Nebraska
Located in
Hall County, Nebraska
Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 48,520 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 dumbest in Nebraska
Located in
Dodge County, Nebraska
Fremont is a city in Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 26,397 at the 2010 census. Fremont is the county seat and the home of Midland University.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 dumbest in Nebraska
Located in
Cheyenne County, Nebraska
Sidney is a city and county seat of Cheyenne County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,757 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 dumbest in Nebraska
Located in
Platte County, Nebraska
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Platte County, in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 22,111 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 dumbest in Nebraska
Located in
Douglas County, Nebraska
Ralston is a city in Douglas County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,943 at the 2010 census. Ralston is surrounded on three sides by the city of Omaha, and by Sarpy County on the south side.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 dumbest in Nebraska
Located in
Madison County, Nebraska
Norfolk is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 83 miles west of Sioux City at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,210 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Nebraska. It is the principal city of the Norfolk Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 dumbest in Nebraska
Located in
Box Butte County, Nebraska
Alliance is a city in Box Butte County, in the northwestern part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. Its population was 8,491 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Butte County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Nebraska’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Nebraska’s dumbest cities are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Cornhusker State
We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.
So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.
In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Nebraska:
- % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)
We got the data from the U.S. Census 2020-2024 American Community Survey.
Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Nebraska from dumbest to brightest.
For this ranking, we used every Nebraska city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the dumbest cities in Nebraska.
The full plate
Dumbest Cities In Nebraska For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | % Adult High School Dropout | % Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schuyler | 6,578 | 34.0% | 8.0% |
| 2 | Lexington | 10,862 | 39.0% | 13.0% |
| 3 | Crete | 7,527 | 28.0% | 19.0% |
| 4 | Grand Island | 52,884 | 17.0% | 21.0% |
| 5 | Fremont | 27,567 | 13.0% | 21.0% |
| 6 | Sidney | 6,419 | 8.0% | 20.0% |
| 7 | Columbus | 24,488 | 9.0% | 22.0% |
| 8 | Ralston | 6,472 | 10.0% | 27.0% |
| 9 | Norfolk | 26,054 | 9.0% | 24.0% |
| 10 | Alliance | 8,075 | 5.0% | 19.0% |
| 11 | McCook | 7,314 | 7.0% | 26.0% |
| 12 | North Platte | 22,831 | 6.0% | 21.0% |
| 13 | Gering | 8,550 | 9.0% | 33.0% |
| 14 | Scottsbluff | 14,376 | 7.0% | 28.0% |
| 15 | Hastings | 25,008 | 7.0% | 30.0% |
| 16 | Beatrice | 12,225 | 5.0% | 23.0% |
| 17 | Omaha | 488,837 | 10.0% | 40.0% |
| 18 | York | 8,141 | 6.0% | 28.0% |
| 19 | Holdrege | 5,546 | 7.0% | 31.0% |
| 20 | Bellevue | 64,510 | 7.0% | 34.0% |
| 21 | Lincoln | 294,856 | 8.0% | 41.0% |
| 22 | Plattsmouth | 6,731 | 2.0% | 29.0% |
| 23 | Blair | 7,914 | 4.0% | 33.0% |
| 24 | Wayne | 6,121 | 5.0% | 36.0% |
| 25 | Chadron | 5,160 | 7.0% | 43.0% |
| 26 | Kearney | 34,246 | 5.0% | 37.0% |
| 27 | La Vista | 16,563 | 4.0% | 35.0% |
| 28 | Seward | 7,678 | 3.0% | 39.0% |
| 29 | Papillion | 25,244 | 3.0% | 49.0% |
| 30 | Gretna | 9,193 | 2.0% | 51.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 30 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
If you’re measuring the locations in Nebraska where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.
The dumbest cities in Nebraska are Schuyler, Lexington, Crete, Grand Island, Fremont, Sidney, Columbus, Ralston, Norfolk, and Alliance. Not sold on Nebraska? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
