Best PlacesHoward City, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Howard City, 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.
Howard City ranks 16,388th 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 Howard City
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.
Howard City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Howard City ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 87% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of towns
- QuietBetter than 86% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 85% of towns
Where Howard City ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 9% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 21% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Howard City
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Howard City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,962, 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 Howard City'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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Howard City
Howard City's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Howard City.
Who works in Howard City, and how
Work in Howard City centers on manufacturing and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Howard City
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Howard City.
What the weather is like in Howard City, month by month
Howard City sees roughly 107 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 26° | 16° |
| April | 68° | 51° | 36° |
| July | 90° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 53° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Howard City
The nearest airport, Central Nebraska Regional, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 148 miles away.
The best schools in and around Howard City
Schools across Howard City average a B+, better than 78% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Centura Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Loup City Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Centura Secondary SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Loup City High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Howard City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Howard City 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 Howard City against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Howard City
Is Howard City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Howard City ranks 16,388th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, civic engagement, and state infrastructure, and lowest on distance from a big city and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Howard City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $175,281. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $71,962 median income, cost of living beats 58% of towns.
Is Howard City safe?
Yes, Howard City is safer than 85% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $222 per resident a year.
Compare Howard City with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Howard City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Howard City 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.
Howard City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Howard City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Howard City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Howard City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Howard City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Howard City 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.