Now that we’re headed towards the next big election, we wanted to get a better sense of what parts of Nebraska would be the most likely to back Donald Trump again.
Specifically, which cities have the highest number of conservative voters in the Cornhusker State?
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to measure how each city in Nebraska with populations greater than 5,000 voted in past elections. The cities with the highest percentage of voters who voted Republican were named the most conservative cities in the state.
83.0% Republican vote · #1 most conservative in Nebraska
Located in
Red Willow County, Nebraska
McCook is a city and county seat of Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,698 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
83.0% Republican vote · #2 most conservative in Nebraska
Located in
Phelps County, Nebraska
Holdrege is a city in Phelps County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,495 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Phelps County. The Nebraska Prairie Museum is located in Holdrege.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
80.0% Republican vote · #3 most conservative 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
77.8% Republican vote · #4 most conservative 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
77.2% Republican vote · #5 most conservative 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
76.4% Republican vote · #6 most conservative in Nebraska
Located in
Lincoln County, Nebraska
North Platte is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Nebraska, United States. It is located in the southwestern part of the state, along Interstate 80, at the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers forming the Platte River. The population was 24,733 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
75.7% Republican vote · #7 most conservative 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
74.7% Republican vote · #8 most conservative in Nebraska
Located in
York County, Nebraska
York is a city in, and the county seat of, York County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,766. It is the home of York College and the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
72.7% Republican vote · #9 most conservative in Nebraska
Located in
Wayne County, Nebraska
Wayne is a city in Wayne County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,660 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wayne County and the home of Wayne State College.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
71.1% Republican vote · #10 most conservative in Nebraska
Located in
Dawes County, Nebraska
Chadron is a city in Dawes County, in the state of Nebraska in the Great Plains region of the United States. The population was 5,851 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Dawes County, and the location of Chadron State College.
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
Mapping the conservative strongholds in Nebraska
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the most conservative cities in Nebraska for 2026
To find the most conservative places in Nebraska, we used Saturday Night Science – the argument you’d make at a bar – to find the cities with the most conservatives.
We started by making a list of every city in Nebraska over 5,000 people based on the 2020-2024 American Community Survey. That left us with 32 cities and towns.
We then measured the voting record and MIT election data to determine which places rock the most rightward in their allegiances by:
- Percentage Of Votes For The Republican President In 2020
Because no voting data exists at the city level, we used county-level election results from the 2020 election. We assigned every city in a county the percentage of votes that went to the Republicans, effectively extending the county’s results to the city level. In cases where larger cities encompassed an entire county, the election outcomes accurately reflected the city’s political landscape.
Next, we ranked each city from 1 to 32 for each criterion, where number one was the most conservative.
The winner, McCook, is “The Most Conservative City in Nebraska For 2026”. The most liberal place in Nebraska was Omaha.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the most conservative places to live in Nebraska.
The full plate
Most Conservative Places In Nebraska
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Conservative Score | Population | % Conservative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McCook | 1.00 | 7,314 | 83.0% |
| 2 | Holdrege | 2.00 | 5,546 | 83.0% |
| 3 | Sidney | 3.00 | 6,419 | 80.0% |
| 4 | Columbus | 4.00 | 24,488 | 77.8% |
| 5 | Alliance | 5.00 | 8,075 | 77.2% |
| 6 | North Platte | 6.00 | 22,831 | 76.4% |
| 7 | Norfolk | 7.00 | 26,054 | 75.7% |
| 8 | York | 8.00 | 8,141 | 74.7% |
| 9 | Wayne | 9.00 | 6,121 | 72.7% |
| 10 | Chadron | 10.00 | 5,160 | 71.1% |
| 11 | Lexington | 11.00 | 10,862 | 71.1% |
| 12 | Seward | 12.00 | 7,678 | 71.0% |
| 13 | Schuyler | 13.00 | 6,578 | 70.9% |
| 14 | Scottsbluff | 14.50 | 14,376 | 70.8% |
| 14 | Gering | 14.50 | 8,550 | 70.8% |
| 16 | Kearney | 16.00 | 34,246 | 70.5% |
| 17 | Blair | 17.00 | 7,914 | 69.1% |
| 18 | Hastings | 18.00 | 25,008 | 69.1% |
| 19 | Nebraska City | 19.00 | 7,369 | 67.9% |
| 20 | Beatrice | 20.00 | 12,225 | 67.3% |
| 21 | Grand Island | 21.00 | 52,884 | 66.4% |
| 22 | Plattsmouth | 22.00 | 6,731 | 66.2% |
| 23 | Fremont | 23.00 | 27,567 | 65.1% |
| 24 | Crete | 24.00 | 7,527 | 62.9% |
| 25 | South Sioux City | 25.00 | 13,907 | 57.8% |
| 27 | La Vista | 27.50 | 16,563 | 54.3% |
| 27 | Gretna | 27.50 | 9,193 | 54.3% |
| 27 | Bellevue | 27.50 | 64,510 | 54.3% |
| 27 | Papillion | 27.50 | 25,244 | 54.3% |
| 30 | Lincoln | 30.00 | 294,856 | 44.9% |
| 31 | Ralston | 31.50 | 6,472 | 43.3% |
| 31 | Omaha | 31.50 | 488,837 | 43.3% |
Source: county-level 2020 election results, U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 32 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summing Up The Conservative Strongholds in Nebraska
Well, there you have it, the places in Nebraska that have the highest number of conservatives per capita, with McCook ranking as the most conservative in the entire state.
The most conservative cities in Nebraska are McCook, Holdrege, Sidney, Columbus, Alliance, North Platte, Norfolk, York, Wayne, and Chadron.
If you’re curious, here are the least conservative cities in Nebraska.
