Best PlacesStanton County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Stanton County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Stanton County ranks 436th 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 Stanton 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.
Stanton County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Stanton County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 96% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 89% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of counties
Where Stanton County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 30% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 30% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 33% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 33% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Stanton County
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Stanton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,864, 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 Stanton County's effective rate of 1.23%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Stanton County
Stanton 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 Stanton County.
Who works in Stanton County, and how
Work in Stanton County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Stanton County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Stanton County.
Is Stanton County growing, and who is moving in?
Stanton County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Madison County, NE.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Stanton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Stanton County, month by month
Stanton County sees roughly 104 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 Stanton County
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 85 miles away.
The best schools in and around Stanton County
Schools across Stanton County average a B, better than 71% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Wisner-pilger Elem SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Woodland Park Elementary SchB+ · 55% proficient
- Stanton Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sergeant Bluff-luton Middle SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- West Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Norfolk Jr High SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Leigh High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Howells Senior High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Winside High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Stanton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Stanton 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 Stanton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Stanton County
Is Stanton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Stanton County ranks 436th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, a strong job market, and low crime, and lowest on property taxes and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Stanton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $197,695. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $77,864 median income, cost of living beats 76% of counties.
Is Stanton County safe?
Yes, Stanton County is safer than 89% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $229 per resident a year.
Compare Stanton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Stanton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Stanton 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.
Stanton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Stanton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Stanton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Stanton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Stanton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Stanton 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.