Best PlacesFordyce, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fordyce, 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.
Fordyce ranks 7,554th 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 Fordyce
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.
Fordyce's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fordyce ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of towns
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 92% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of towns
Where Fordyce ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 26% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 29% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 29% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Fordyce
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fordyce home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,632, 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 Fordyce's effective rate of 1.03%, 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 Fordyce
Fordyce runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Fordyce.
Who works in Fordyce, and how
Work in Fordyce centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Fordyce
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Fordyce.
What the weather is like in Fordyce, month by month
Fordyce sees roughly 123 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 21° | 13° |
| April | 61° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 64° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Fordyce
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around Fordyce
Schools across Fordyce average a B, better than 67% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Crofton Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Hartington-newcastle Elem At HartingtonB− · 40% proficient
- Wynot Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wynot Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Wynot High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Crofton High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Hartington Newcastle High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fordyce school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fordyce 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 Fordyce against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Fordyce
Is Fordyce a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fordyce ranks 7,554th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, civic engagement, and short commutes, 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 Fordyce expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $201,856. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $81,632 median income, cost of living beats 70% of towns.
Is Fordyce safe?
Yes, Fordyce is safer than 70% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $237 per resident a year.
Compare Fordyce with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fordyce. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fordyce 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.
Fordyce detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fordyce: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fordyce: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fordyce: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fordyce: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fordyce 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.