Nebraska cities

The best places to live in Nebraska

Nebraska's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Columbus leads the list.

We scored Nebraska's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
1 Columbus $159,700 $803 71 80
2 Bellevue $179,300 $1,059 76 77
3 Papillion $231,600 $997 93 74
4 Kearney $192,200 $855 46 58
6 Hastings $133,300 $749 65 55
7 Fremont $150,000 $812 43 44
8 Grand Island $157,400 $807 33 39
9 Lincoln $193,800 $920 28 37
10 Norfolk $163,500 $762 27 36
12 Omaha $177,700 $999 22 20

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within Nebraska. Updated 2026.