Best PlacesOtoe County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Otoe 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.
Otoe County ranks 688th of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Otoe 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.
Otoe County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Otoe County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 87% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 84% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of counties
Where Otoe County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 19% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 27% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
- Cheap childcare$848 a month, better than only 36% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Otoe County
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Otoe County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,230, 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 Otoe County's effective rate of 1.30%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Otoe County
Otoe County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Otoe County.
Who works in Otoe County, and how
Work in Otoe County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Otoe County
Otoe County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of counties and more parkland per resident than 92% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Otoe County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Otoe County growing, and who is moving in?
Otoe County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Omaha, NE.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Otoe County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Otoe County, month by month
Otoe County sees roughly 69 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 Otoe County
The nearest airport, Lincoln, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 44 miles away.
The best schools in and around Otoe County
Schools across Otoe County average a B−, better than 70% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- West Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Elmwood-murdock Elem SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Fremont-mills Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middle School At SyracuseA · 62% proficient
- Hamburg Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Norris Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- High School At JohnsonA · 70% proficient
- Elmwood-murdock Jr/sr High SchA− · 62% proficient
- Freeman High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Otoe County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Otoe 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 Otoe County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Otoe County
Is Otoe County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Otoe County ranks 688th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, walkability, and civic engagement, and lowest on property taxes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Otoe County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $210,947. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $82,230 median income, cost of living beats 84% of counties.
Is Otoe County safe?
Yes, Otoe County is safer than 63% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $308 per resident a year.
Compare Otoe County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Otoe County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Otoe 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.
Otoe County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Otoe County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Otoe County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Otoe County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Otoe County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Otoe 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.