Best PlacesNemaha, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Nemaha, 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.
Nemaha ranks 26,294th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Nemaha
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's strengths and weaknesses
Where Nemaha ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 92% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 86% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 76% of towns
Where Nemaha ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 16% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 18% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Nemaha
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Nemaha home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,520, 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's effective rate of 1.21%, 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 Nemaha
Nemaha runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, 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 Nemaha.
Who works in Nemaha, and how
Work in Nemaha centers on manufacturing and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Nemaha
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Nemaha.
What the weather is like in Nemaha, month by month
Nemaha sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 62° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Nemaha
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around Nemaha
Schools across Nemaha average an A−, better than 86% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Schaller-crestland ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Newell-fonda ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- East Sac County ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Schaller-crestland Ridge View Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Newell-fonda Middle Sch.A · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Newell-fonda High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Storm Lake High SchoolB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Nemaha school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Nemaha 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 against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Nemaha
Is Nemaha a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Nemaha ranks 26,294th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on a weak job market and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Nemaha expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $135,193. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $59,520 median income, cost of living beats 39% of towns.
Is Nemaha safe?
Yes, Nemaha is safer than 60% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
Compare Nemaha with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Nemaha. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Nemaha 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Nemaha: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Nemaha: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Nemaha: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Nemaha: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Nemaha 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.