Best PlacesPierce County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pierce 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.
Pierce County ranks 335th 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 Pierce 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.
Pierce County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Pierce County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 91% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of counties
Where Pierce County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 19% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 19% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Pierce County
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pierce County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,474, 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 Pierce County's effective rate of 1.22%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Pierce County
Pierce 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 Pierce County.
Who works in Pierce County, and how
Work in Pierce County centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Pierce County
Pierce County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Pierce County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Pierce County growing, and who is moving in?
Pierce County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Madison County, NE.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Pierce County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Pierce County, month by month
Pierce County sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 23° | 13° |
| April | 66° | 49° | 36° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 52° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Pierce County
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 62 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 110 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pierce County
Schools across Pierce County average an A−, better than 91% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Osmond Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Elkhorn Valley Elementary SchB+ · 55% proficient
- Randolph Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Osmond High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Pierce Jr/sr High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Battle Creek High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pierce County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pierce 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 Pierce County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Pierce County
Is Pierce County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pierce County ranks 335th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, walkability, and good schools, and lowest on property taxes and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pierce County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $202,305. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $74,474 median income, cost of living beats 59% of counties.
Is Pierce County safe?
Yes, Pierce County is safer than 87% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $235 per resident a year.
Compare Pierce County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pierce County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pierce 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.
Pierce County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pierce County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pierce County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pierce County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pierce County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pierce 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.