Best PlacesMullen, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Mullen, 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.
Mullen ranks 32,097th 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 Mullen
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.
Mullen's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mullen ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of towns
- Short commute14.3 minutes each way, better than 98% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 149 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of towns
Where Mullen ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of towns
- Household income$51,078 median, better than only 14% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Mullen
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mullen home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,078, 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 Mullen's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Mullen
Mullen 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 Mullen.
Who works in Mullen, and how
Work in Mullen centers on agriculture & forestry and arts & entertainment. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Mullen
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Mullen.
What the weather is like in Mullen, month by month
Mullen sees roughly 149 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 25° | 18° |
| April | 61° | 45° | 34° |
| July | 87° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 64° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Mullen
The nearest airport, North Platte Regional/Lee Bird Field, is about 68 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 241 miles away.
The best schools in and around Mullen
Schools across Mullen average a B+, better than 76% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mullen Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Albin ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Hyannis Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cody-kilgore Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Torrington Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Gordon-rushville Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Cody-kilgore High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Hyannis High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Mullen High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mullen school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mullen 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 Mullen against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Mullen
Is Mullen a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mullen ranks 32,097th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, clean air, and short commutes, and lowest on distance from a big city and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mullen expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $103,425. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $51,078 median income, cost of living beats 21% of towns.
Is Mullen safe?
Mullen is safer than 5% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $680 per resident a year.
Compare Mullen with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mullen. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mullen 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.
Mullen detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mullen: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mullen: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mullen: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mullen: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mullen 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.