Best PlacesDixon County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Dixon 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.
Dixon County ranks 775th 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 Dixon 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.
Dixon County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dixon County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- QuietBetter than 91% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 82% of counties
Where Dixon County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 23% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 24% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 26% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 32% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Dixon County
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dixon County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,427, 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 Dixon County's effective rate of 1.11%, 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 Dixon County
Dixon County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Dixon County.
Who works in Dixon County, and how
Work in Dixon County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Dixon County
Dixon County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of counties and more parkland per resident than 93% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Dixon County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Dixon County growing, and who is moving in?
Dixon County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Wayne County, NE.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Dixon County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Dixon County, month by month
Dixon County sees roughly 104 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 22° | 14° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 35° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 50° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Dixon County
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 92 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dixon County
Schools across Dixon County average a B+, better than 82% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Akron Westfield Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Emerson-hubbard Elementary SchA · 65% proficient
- Ponca Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sergeant Bluff-luton Middle SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Akron Westfield Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- West Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Wynot High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Wayne High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Akron Westfield Senior High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dixon County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dixon 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 Dixon County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Dixon County
Is Dixon County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dixon County ranks 775th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, quiet, and walkability, and lowest on internet speeds and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dixon County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $156,740. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $69,427 median income, cost of living beats 71% of counties.
Is Dixon County safe?
Dixon County is safer than 42% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $339 per resident a year.
Compare Dixon County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dixon County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dixon 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.
Dixon County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dixon County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dixon County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dixon County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dixon County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dixon 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.