Best PlacesPlatte County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Platte 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.
Platte County ranks 615th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Platte 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.
Platte County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Platte County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of counties
- Short commute16.1 minutes each way, better than 93% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 90% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of counties
Where Platte County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 8% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 23% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Platte County
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Platte County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,025, 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 Platte County's effective rate of 1.29%, 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 Platte County
Platte 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 Platte County.
Who works in Platte County, and how
Work in Platte County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Platte County
Platte County has more parkland per resident than 88% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Platte County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Platte County growing, and who is moving in?
Platte County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Saline County, NE.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Platte County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Platte County, month by month
Platte County sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 24° | 16° |
| April | 65° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 52° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Platte County
The nearest airport, Lincoln, is about 54 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around Platte County
Schools across Platte County average a B, better than 70% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Newman Grove Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Leigh Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Shell Creek Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lakeview Junior High SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Columbus Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Madison Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Leigh High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Newman Grove High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Humphrey Jr-sr High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Platte County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Platte 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 Platte County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Platte County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 71% of counties and 6% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 66% of counties and health care access beats 69%.
Common questions about living in Platte County
Is Platte County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Platte County ranks 615th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, few empty homes, and short commutes, and lowest on noise and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Platte County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $234,787. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $76,025 median income, cost of living beats 71% of counties.
Is Platte County safe?
Yes, Platte County is safer than 68% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $286 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Platte County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 16. That works out to about 108 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of counties.
Is Platte County good for families?
Schools beat 70% of counties, crime safety beats 68%, and childcare runs $848 a month.
Compare Platte County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Platte County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Platte 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.
Platte County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Platte County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Platte County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Platte County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Platte County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Platte 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.