Best PlacesChase County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Chase 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.
Chase County ranks 659th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Chase 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.
Chase County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chase County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- Short commute14.9 minutes each way, better than 96% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 87% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of counties
Where Chase County ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 1% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 20% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 20% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 25% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Chase County
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chase County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,460, 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 Chase County's effective rate of 1.01%, 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 Chase County
Chase County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Chase County.
Who works in Chase County, and how
Work in Chase County centers on agriculture & forestry and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Chase County
Chase County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of counties and more parkland per resident than 93% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Chase County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Chase County growing, and who is moving in?
Chase County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Fort Collins, CO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Chase County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Chase County, month by month
Chase County sees roughly 130 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 27° | 15° |
| April | 68° | 49° | 33° |
| July | 94° | 76° | 61° |
| October | 70° | 51° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Chase County
The nearest airport, North Platte Regional/Lee Bird Field, is about 66 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 167 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chase County
Schools across Chase County average a B, better than 75% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Perkins County Elementary SchB+ · 55% proficient
- Chase County Elementary SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Palisade Attendance CenterB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wauneta Palisade Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Perkins County Junior- Senior High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Chase County High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Wauneta-palisade High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chase County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chase 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 Chase County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Chase County
Is Chase County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chase County ranks 659th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and clean air, and lowest on tree cover 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 Chase County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $172,037. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $69,460 median income, cost of living beats 70% of counties.
Is Chase County safe?
Chase County is safer than 49% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $323 per resident a year.
Compare Chase County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chase County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chase 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.
Chase County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chase County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chase County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chase County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chase County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chase 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.