Best PlacesAxtell, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Axtell, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Axtell ranks 3,828th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Axtell
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.
Axtell's strengths and weaknesses
Where Axtell ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of towns
- Household income$103,380 median, better than 87% of towns
Where Axtell ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 5% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 14% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 33% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 39% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Axtell
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Axtell home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $103,380, 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 Axtell's effective rate of 0.89%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Axtell
Axtell's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Axtell.
Who works in Axtell, and how
Work in Axtell centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Axtell
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Axtell.
What the weather is like in Axtell, month by month
Axtell sees roughly 128 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 27° | 19° |
| April | 66° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 67° | 52° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Axtell
The nearest airport, Kearney Regional, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 177 miles away.
The best schools in and around Axtell
Schools across Axtell average a B, better than 71% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Minden East Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Axtell Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Kenwood Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Horizon Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- C L Jones Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Kearney High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Minden High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Axtell High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Axtell school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Axtell 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 Axtell against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Axtell
Is Axtell a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Axtell ranks 3,828th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, a stable housing market, and what local pay buys, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Axtell expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $229,556. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $103,380 median income, cost of living beats 92% of towns.
Is Axtell safe?
Yes, Axtell is safer than 78% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $218 per resident a year.
Compare Axtell with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Axtell. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Axtell 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.
Axtell detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Axtell: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Axtell: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Axtell: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Axtell: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Axtell 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.
- 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.