Best PlacesSioux County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sioux County, 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.
Sioux County ranks 2,566th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Sioux 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.
Sioux County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sioux County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 95% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 135 pleasant days a year, better than 85% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of counties
- Short commute19.7 minutes each way, better than 80% of counties
Where Sioux County ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sioux County
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sioux County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,819, 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 Sioux County's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Sioux County
Sioux 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 Sioux County.
Who works in Sioux County, and how
Work in Sioux County centers on agriculture & forestry and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Sioux County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Sioux County.
Is Sioux County growing, and who is moving in?
Sioux County has lost about 17% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Dawes County, NE.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sioux County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sioux County, month by month
Sioux County sees roughly 135 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 23° | 11° |
| April | 61° | 43° | 29° |
| July | 89° | 71° | 55° |
| October | 64° | 44° | 28° |
Flying in and out of Sioux County
The nearest airport, Scottsbluff/Western Nebraska Regional/Wm B Heilig Field, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 181 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sioux County
Schools across Sioux County average a B−, better than 61% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mitchell Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Crawford Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Harrison Grade SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lusk Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Mitchell Secondary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Crawford High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Niobrara County High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sioux County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sioux 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 Sioux County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Sioux County
Is Sioux County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sioux County ranks 2,566th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, a strong job market, and the weather, and lowest on biking and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sioux County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $117,128. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $55,819 median income, cost of living beats 8% of counties.
Is Sioux County safe?
Sioux County is safer than 13% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $497 per resident a year.
Compare Sioux County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sioux County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sioux 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.
Sioux County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sioux County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sioux County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sioux County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sioux County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sioux 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.