Best PlacesPhelps County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Phelps 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.
Phelps County ranks 577th of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Phelps 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.
Phelps County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Phelps County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of counties
- Short commute14.7 minutes each way, better than 96% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 88% of counties
Where Phelps County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 17% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 19% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Phelps County
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Phelps County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,837, 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 Phelps County's effective rate of 1.25%, 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 Phelps County
Phelps County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Phelps County.
Who works in Phelps County, and how
Work in Phelps County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Phelps County
Phelps County has more parkland per resident than 75% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Phelps County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Phelps County growing, and who is moving in?
Phelps County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Buffalo County, NE.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Phelps County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Phelps County, month by month
Phelps County sees roughly 132 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 27° | 19° |
| April | 66° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 67° | 52° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Phelps County
The nearest airport, Kearney Regional, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 192 miles away.
The best schools in and around Phelps County
Schools across Phelps County average a B, better than 78% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Almena ElemA+ · 75% proficient
- Axtell Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Holdrege Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Horizon Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Holdrege Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Loomis Secondary SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Holdrege High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Kearney High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Phelps County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Phelps 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 Phelps County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Phelps County
Is Phelps County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Phelps County ranks 577th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, walkability, and short commutes, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Phelps County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $201,429. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $68,837 median income, cost of living beats 73% of counties.
Is Phelps County safe?
Yes, Phelps County is safer than 65% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $292 per resident a year.
Compare Phelps County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Phelps County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Phelps 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.
Phelps County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Phelps County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Phelps County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Phelps County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Phelps County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Phelps 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.