Best PlacesBuffalo County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Buffalo County, 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.
Buffalo County ranks 418th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Buffalo 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.
Buffalo County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Buffalo County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- Short commute15.9 minutes each way, better than 93% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of counties
Where Buffalo County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 5% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Buffalo County
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Buffalo County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,389, 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 Buffalo County's effective rate of 1.37%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Buffalo County
Buffalo County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Buffalo County.
Who works in Buffalo County, and how
Work in Buffalo County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Buffalo County
Buffalo County has less parkland per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 82% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Buffalo County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Buffalo County growing, and who is moving in?
Buffalo County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Omaha, NE.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Buffalo County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Buffalo County, month by month
Buffalo County sees roughly 128 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 66° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 67° | 52° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Buffalo County
The nearest airport, Kearney Regional, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 170 miles away.
The best schools in and around Buffalo County
Schools across Buffalo County average a B+, better than 82% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Almena ElemA+ · 75% proficient
- Amherst Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Meadowlark Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Horizon Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Sunrise Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Centura Secondary SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Ravenna Senior HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Shelton High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Buffalo County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Buffalo 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 Buffalo County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Buffalo County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 73% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 6% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 81% of counties and health care access beats 63%.
Common questions about living in Buffalo County
Is Buffalo County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Buffalo County ranks 418th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and population health, and lowest on noise 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 Buffalo County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $257,589. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $77,389 median income, cost of living beats 73% of counties.
Is Buffalo County safe?
Yes, Buffalo County is safer than 90% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Buffalo County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 18. That works out to about 128 pleasant days a year, more than 81% of counties.
Is Buffalo County good for families?
Schools beat 82% of counties, crime safety beats 90%, and childcare runs $848 a month.
Compare Buffalo County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Buffalo County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Buffalo 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.
Buffalo County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Buffalo County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Buffalo County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Buffalo County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Buffalo County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Buffalo 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.