Best PlacesHowells, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Howells, 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.
Howells ranks 5,703rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Howells
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.
Howells' strengths and weaknesses
Where Howells ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 87% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of towns
Where Howells ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 28% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 34% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Howells
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Howells home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,730, 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 Howells' effective rate of 1.20%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Howells
Howells runs older than the country, 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 Howells.
Who works in Howells, and how
Work in Howells centers on agriculture & forestry and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Howells
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Howells.
What the weather is like in Howells, month by month
Howells sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 24° | 16° |
| April | 65° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 52° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Howells
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 65 miles away.
The best schools in and around Howells
Schools across Howells average an A−, better than 82% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Wisner-pilger Elem SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Stanton Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Schuyler Elementary-fisher'sB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Schuyler Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Howells Senior High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Wisner-pilger High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Clarkson Jr-sr High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Howells school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Howells 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 Howells against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Howells
Is Howells a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Howells ranks 5,703rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, walkability, and what local pay buys, and lowest on tree cover and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Howells expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $150,508. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $88,730 median income, cost of living beats 87% of towns.
Is Howells safe?
Yes, Howells is safer than 57% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $277 per resident a year.
Compare Howells with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Howells. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Howells 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.
Howells detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Howells: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Howells: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Howells: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Howells: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Howells 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.