Best PlacesNemaha County, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Nemaha County, 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.
Nemaha County ranks 819th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Nemaha 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.
Nemaha County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Nemaha County ranks high
- Short commute14.8 minutes each way, better than 96% of counties
- Cheap childcare$467 a month, better than 95% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 84% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of counties
Where Nemaha County ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 17% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 17% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 33% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 34% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Nemaha County
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Nemaha County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,777, 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 Nemaha County's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 Nemaha County
Nemaha 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 Nemaha County.
Who works in Nemaha County, and how
Work in Nemaha County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Nemaha County
Nemaha County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 70% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Nemaha County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Nemaha County growing, and who is moving in?
Nemaha County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Topeka, KS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Nemaha County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Nemaha County, month by month
Nemaha County sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 27° | 19° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Nemaha County
The nearest airport, Manhattan Regional, is about 61 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 76 miles away.
The best schools in and around Nemaha County
Schools across Nemaha County average a B−, better than 62% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Centralia ElemA− · 62% proficient
- Nemaha Central Elementary And Middle SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Sabetha Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sabetha Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Hiawatha Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Wetmore HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Axtell HighB− · 42% proficient
- Centralia HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Nemaha County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Nemaha 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 Nemaha County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Nemaha County
Is Nemaha County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Nemaha County ranks 819th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on tree cover and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Nemaha County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $216,184. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $77,777 median income, cost of living beats 81% of counties.
Is Nemaha County safe?
Yes, Nemaha County is safer than 65% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $314 per resident a year.
Compare Nemaha County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Nemaha County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Nemaha 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.
Nemaha County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Nemaha County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Nemaha County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Nemaha County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Nemaha County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Nemaha 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.