Best PlacesAntelope County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Antelope County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Antelope County ranks 963rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Antelope County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Antelope County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Antelope County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- Short commute17.9 minutes each way, better than 88% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 87% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of counties
Where Antelope County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 13% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 17% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Antelope County
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Antelope County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,797, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Antelope County's effective rate of 1.12%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Antelope County
Antelope County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Antelope County.
Who works in Antelope County, and how
Work in Antelope County centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Antelope County
Antelope County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 93% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Antelope County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Antelope County growing, and who is moving in?
Antelope County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Holt County, NE.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Antelope County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Antelope County, month by month
Antelope County sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 24° | 16° |
| April | 64° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 65° | 50° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Antelope County
The nearest airport, Central Nebraska Regional, is about 82 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 126 miles away.
The best schools in and around Antelope County
Schools across Antelope County average a B, better than 78% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Boone Central Elem-albionA · 63% proficient
- Elkhorn Valley Elementary SchB+ · 55% proficient
- Elgin Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Akron Westfield Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- West Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Boone Central Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Akron Westfield Senior High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Boone Central High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Plainview Secondary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Antelope County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Antelope County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Antelope County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Antelope County
Is Antelope County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Antelope County ranks 963rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and health care access, and lowest on internet speeds and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Antelope County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $144,288. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $68,797 median income, cost of living beats 62% of counties.
Is Antelope County safe?
Yes, Antelope County is safer than 60% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $312 per resident a year.
Compare Antelope County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Antelope County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Antelope County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Antelope County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Antelope County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Antelope County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Antelope County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Antelope County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Antelope County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.