Best PlacesHolt County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Holt 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.
Holt County ranks 958th of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Holt 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.
Holt County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Holt County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- Short commute16.4 minutes each way, better than 92% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 85% of counties
Where Holt County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 26% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 74 pleasant days a year, better than only 28% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Holt County
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Holt County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,003, 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 Holt County's effective rate of 1.07%, 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 Holt County
Holt County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Holt County.
Who works in Holt County, and how
Work in Holt County centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Holt County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Holt County.
Is Holt County growing, and who is moving in?
Holt County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Fort Collins, CO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Holt County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Holt County, month by month
Holt County sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 23° | 15° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 50° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Holt County
The nearest airport, Central Nebraska Regional, is about 106 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 167 miles away.
The best schools in and around Holt County
Schools across Holt County average a B+, better than 80% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Akron Westfield Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Atkinson Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Riverside Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Akron Westfield Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- West Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Akron Westfield Senior High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Stuart High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Wheeler Central HighB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Holt County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Holt 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 Holt County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Holt County
Is Holt County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Holt County ranks 958th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and walkability, 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 Holt County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $167,227. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $66,003 median income, cost of living beats 44% of counties.
Is Holt County safe?
Yes, Holt County is safer than 56% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $326 per resident a year.
Compare Holt County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Holt County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Holt 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.
Holt County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Holt County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Holt County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Holt County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Holt County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Holt 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.