If you’ve never visited Carhenge in Alliance or caught an astronomy show at the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland, then you’ve not witnessed what 1.9 million Nebraskans already know; they have some of the most affordable fun to be had in America.
Coincidentally, Nebraska has some of the most affordable places to live in the country as well, and HomeSnacks is here to unravel where you can live in Nebraska on a budget for 2022.
How did we create the ultimate guide to maneuvering Nebraska’s most affordable places to live? We took a look at the US Census and the cost of living data for the Cornhusker State. We were especially interested in home and rental prices. Our conclusion, Nebraska should be one of our fastest growing states based on the amount of work available and its higher than normal wages, but housing is currently difficult to find.
Now, don’t let the housing shortage deter you: they are working on it. More importantly, when you do decide to take the Nebraska plunge, you’re going to need to know where your money will go the furthest.
The places on our most affordable Nebraska list boast great home prices, safe neighborhoods, and lots to do. Any one of these cheaper Nebraska places would be a great place to enjoy life while saving money. Want to know more? We suggest you crank some Maroon 5, grab a basket of Nebraska’s famous Rocky Mountain oysters, and keep reading.
The 10 Most Affordable Places To Live In Nebraska
There are definitely some affordable Nebraska places on our list that will surprise you, however, there can be only one number most affordable for 2022. What’s the cheapest place to live in Nebraska? If you want to get the most bang for your Nebraska buck, you’re going to want to choose Schuyler, the cheapest place in the Cornhusker State.
To see how your favorite Nebraska city compared, take a look below. If you don’t see it there, head to the bottom.
And if you already knew these places were cheap, check out some more reading about Nebraska and the cheapest places in the country:
The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Nebraska For 2022
If you’re looking for the absolute cheapest place to live in Nebraska, look no further than Schuyler, a city an hour north of Lincoln. What makes Schuyler so affordable? Well, Schuyler has the first least expensive homes for sale in Nebraska, with a median price tag of $87,700. Even more importantly, with a median income of $64,657, Schuyler has the best home price to income ratio in the state. If you’re looking to lock down a job before making the move, the Cargill beef processing plant is the city’s largest employer.
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Population: 6,269
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 1.4x (most affordable)
Income To Rent Ratio: 93.3x (5th cheapest)
More On Schuyler: Real Estate | Crime Rate | Cost Of Living
Alliance ranks as the second most affordable place to live in Nebraska. It’s also home to Carhenge, a quirky roadside stop on the western edge of the Sandhills of Nebraska that replicates Stonehenge. If you decide to move to Alliance, a home will set you back about $124,500 or rent will cost you around $676/month. Whether you’re renting or buying, know that you’ll be enjoying the fifth best housing to income ratio in Nebraska.
Alliance is located centrally in the Nebraska Panhandle.
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Population: 8,139
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.2x (5th most affordable)
Income To Rent Ratio: 85.6x (30th cheapest)
More On Alliance: Real Estate | Crime Rate | Cost Of Living
Nebraska City is a city in, and the county seat of, Otoe County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,289.
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Population: 7,270
Rank Last Year: 20 (Up 17)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.1x (4th most affordable)
Income To Rent Ratio: 76.3x (16th cheapest)
More On Nebraska City: Real Estate | Crime Rate | Cost Of Living
Located in the Nebraska Panhandle just north of the Colorado border, Sidney comes in as the fourth cheapest place to live in the state. The median home price in Sidney is $101,800 and the median income is $51,880. That means that Sidney’s population pays the second smallest proportion of their income on homes statewide. At $786/month, the rent in Sidney is also super affordable. Those looking to learn more about the city’s ties to the rugged frontier days on the late 19th century will definitely want to pay a visit to the Fort Sidney Museum.
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Population: 6,451
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.0x (2nd most affordable)
Income To Rent Ratio: 66.0x (8th cheapest)
More On Sidney: Real Estate | Crime Rate | Cost Of Living
Located along Route 30 in southern Nebraska, Lexington ranks as the fifth most affordable city in the state. You’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere in Nebraska that has cheaper homes for sale, because Lexington has the fifth lowest home prices statewide, with a median price of $114,500. And with a median income of $55,913, Lexington residents enjoy the third best home price to income ratio in Nebraska. Military buffs will be delighted to have the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles right in the neighborhood. And don’t worry that this inexpensive place with lots of weaponry on display is dangerous; we named Lexington among the safest places in Nebraska.
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Population: 10,069
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.0x (3rd most affordable)
Income To Rent Ratio: 66.8x (32nd cheapest)
More On Lexington: Real Estate | Crime Rate | Cost Of Living
Located between Lincoln and Grand Island, York ranks as the sixth least expensive place to call home in Nebraska. York is another city that makes this list thanks to it’s affordable rent. While the median rent of $746 is slightly higher than Holdrege, York’s median income of $58,125 is also slightly higher. Overall, York has the seventh best rent to income ratio in Nebraska. And if you’re into quirky novelty museums, Lee’s Legendary Marbles and Collectibles makes a great day out on a budget.
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Population: 7,810
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.4x (10th most affordable)
Income To Rent Ratio: 77.9x (22nd cheapest)
More On York: Real Estate | Crime Rate | Cost Of Living
South Sioux City is more than just a sibilant-heavy tongue-twister; it’s also the seventh least expensive place in Nebraska. Homes in South Sioux City are the sixth most affordable statewide, with a median price of $124,300. Renters also get the 18th best deal in Nebraska. If you do decide to settle down here, we recommend visiting Siouxland Freedom Park for relaxing picnic beside the Missouri River.
South Sioux City is located just south of Sioux City, Iowa.
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Population: 12,867
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.2x (6th most affordable)
Income To Rent Ratio: 69.6x (26th cheapest)
More On South Sioux City: Real Estate | Crime Rate | Cost Of Living
Gering is a city in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 8,500 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Scotts Bluff County.
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Population: 8,179
Rank Last Year: 22 (Up 14)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.2x (8th most affordable)
Income To Rent Ratio: 76.4x (27th cheapest)
More On Gering: Real Estate | Crime Rate | Cost Of Living
Ranking as our ninth most affordable place to live in Nebraska is McCook, a small city in the southwestern part of the state. McCook scored an 8/10 on our overall Snackability score, so you know they’ve got you covered on low unemployment, good schools, short commutes, and awesome amenities like the Heritage Hills Golf Course. And the great news doesn’t stop there; you can get a home in McCook for $111,100, the fourth cheapest price in Nebraska. And with a median income of $44,961, McCook has the 17th lowest home price to income ratio in the state.
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Population: 7,555
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 5)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.5x (17th most affordable)
Income To Rent Ratio: 70.6x (3cheapest)
More On Mccook: Real Estate | Crime Rate | Cost Of Living
While other cities higher up on this list may have cheaper homes, they don’t hold a candle to Holdrege when it comes to affordable rent. The median rent in Holdrege is a measly $654, about half the average rent in Nebraska. And with a median income of $53,241, Holdrege residents pay the 18th smallest proportion of their income on rent statewide.
Holdrege is also home to the Nebraska Prairie Museum, where you can learn about the WWII German POW Camp Atlanta.
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Population: 5,406
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.5x (18th most affordable)
Income To Rent Ratio: 81.4x (2nd cheapest)
More On Holdrege: Real Estate | Crime Rate | Cost Of Living
Cheapest Places To Live In Nebraska FAQs
What county in Nebraska has the lowest cost of living?
The county in Nebraska with the lowest cost of living is Brown County. The average living wage in Brown County is $85,784 according to MIT data. Brown County has the lowest cost of living because it has relatively less expensive childcare and housing costs compared to Nebraska as a whole. Childcare costs $13,983 a year in Brown County for two children compared to the Nebraska average of $15,649. Housing costs, defined as a blend of the average rent and average mortgage payment, are $8,808 per year in Brown County compared to $10,488 on average in Nebraska.
What is the cost of living in Nebraska?
The cost of living in Nebraska is 0.2% lower than the US average. According to MIT, the required living wage for a family of four with two working parents in Nebraska is $89,596 vs the national average for a family of four with two working parents of $89,744. The median income of a Nebraska household is $63,015.
What is the cheapest housing market in Nebraska?
The cheapest housing market in Nebraska is Schuyler. The average home value in Schuyler is $87,700, the lowest in the state. The average home value in Nebraska is $164,000, almost 1.9 times higher than Schuyler.
Methodology: How We Determined The Most Affordable Places To Live In The Cornhusker State For 2022
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it’s actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2016-2020 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Nebraska to figure out which is the least expensive.
What you are left with is a “Cost of Living Index” by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 32 places in Nebraska that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the lowest cost of living in Nebraska according to the data is Schuyler. You can download the data here.
Summary: There You Have It Mr. Or Mrs. Nebraska Cheapskate
If you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in Nebraska, this is an accurate list of the most affordable places to live in Nebraska for 2022.
Here’s a look at the most expensive cities in Nebraska according to the data:
- Omaha
- Lincoln
- Norfolk
For more Nebraska reading, check out:
The Most Affordable Places To Live In Nebraska
Rank | City | CheapScore |
---|---|---|
1 | Schuyler | 1.33 |
2 | Alliance | 6.67 |
3 | Nebraska City | 7.33 |
4 | Sidney | 10.33 |
5 | Lexington | 10.67 |
6 | York | 11.0 |
7 | South Sioux City | 11.67 |
8 | Gering | 11.67 |
9 | Mccook | 12.0 |
10 | Holdrege | 12.67 |
11 | Crete | 13.0 |
12 | Hastings | 14.0 |
13 | North Platte | 15.33 |
14 | Papillion | 16.33 |
15 | Scottsbluff | 16.67 |
16 | Bellevue | 17.0 |
17 | Seward | 17.0 |
18 | Columbus | 17.67 |
19 | Plattsmouth | 18.0 |
20 | Beatrice | 18.67 |
21 | Grand Island | 18.67 |
22 | Fremont | 19.0 |
23 | Chadron | 19.0 |
24 | Blair | 21.0 |
25 | La Vista | 21.0 |
26 | Gretna | 22.33 |
27 | Kearney | 23.33 |
28 | Ralston | 23.33 |
29 | Wayne | 23.67 |
30 | Norfolk | 24.67 |
31 | Lincoln | 26.33 |
32 | Omaha | 26.67 |