Best PlacesJohnson County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Johnson County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Johnson County ranks 2,363rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Johnson 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.
Johnson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Johnson County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 77% of counties
- School gradeB, better than 76% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 74% of counties
Where Johnson County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 4% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Johnson County
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Johnson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,916, 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 Johnson County's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 Johnson County
Johnson County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Johnson County.
Who works in Johnson County, and how
Work in Johnson County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Johnson County
Johnson County has more parkland per resident than 92% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Johnson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Johnson County growing, and who is moving in?
Johnson County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Lincoln, NE.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Johnson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Johnson County, month by month
Johnson County sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 66° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Johnson County
The nearest airport, Lincoln, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 65 miles away.
The best schools in and around Johnson County
Schools across Johnson County average a B, better than 76% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Elementary School At JohnsonA · 70% proficient
- Rock Port Elem.A · 65% proficient
- Freeman Elementary-adamsB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middle School At SyracuseA · 62% proficient
- Hamburg Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Johnson Co Central Middle SchB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- High School At JohnsonA · 70% proficient
- Freeman High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- High School At SyracuseA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Johnson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Johnson 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 Johnson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Johnson County
Is Johnson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Johnson County ranks 2,363rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, state infrastructure, and population health, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Johnson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $152,061. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $56,916 median income, cost of living beats 15% of counties.
Is Johnson County safe?
Yes, Johnson County is safer than 69% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $298 per resident a year.
Compare Johnson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Johnson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Johnson 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.
Johnson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Johnson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Johnson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Johnson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Johnson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Johnson 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.