Best PlacesMartell, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Martell, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Martell ranks 2,486th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Martell
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.
Martell's strengths and weaknesses
Where Martell ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 96% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of towns
Where Martell ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,085 a month, better than only 20% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 23% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 26% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 28% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Martell
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Martell home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $118,114, 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 Martell's effective rate of 1.43%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Martell
Martell runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Martell.
Who works in Martell, and how
Work in Martell centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Martell
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Martell.
What the weather is like in Martell, month by month
Martell sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 67° | 51° | 40° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Martell
The nearest airport, Lincoln, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 65 miles away.
The best schools in and around Martell
Schools across Martell average a B−, better than 64% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Norris Intermediate SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Norris Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Crete Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Norris High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Crete High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Martell school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Martell 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 Martell against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Martell
Is Martell a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Martell ranks 2,486th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, few empty homes, and a strong job market, and lowest on property taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Martell expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $309,492. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $118,114 median income, cost of living beats 94% of towns.
Is Martell safe?
Yes, Martell is safer than 89% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $180 per resident a year.
Compare Martell with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Martell. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Martell 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.
Martell detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Martell: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Martell: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Martell: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Martell: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Martell 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.