Best PlacesYork County, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in York 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.
York County ranks 602nd 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 York 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.
York County's strengths and weaknesses
Where York County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of counties
- Short commute13.0 minutes each way, better than 98% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 139 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 85% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of counties
Where York County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 15% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 17% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in York County
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median York County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,508, 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 York County's effective rate of 1.12%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in York County
York 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 York County.
Who works in York County, and how
Work in York County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in York County
York County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of counties and more parkland per resident than 71% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of York County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is York County growing, and who is moving in?
York County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Omaha, NE.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving York County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in York County, month by month
York County sees roughly 139 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 25° | 17° |
| April | 65° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 52° | 41° |
Flying in and out of York County
The nearest airport, Central Nebraska Regional, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around York County
Schools across York County average a B+, better than 83% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Cross County Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Heartland Community ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Centennial Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- York Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Cross County Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Woodrow Wilson Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Heartland Community High SchA− · 62% proficient
- Exeter-milligan High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Hampton High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every York County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
York 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 York County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in York County
Is York County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, York County ranks 602nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and the weather, and lowest on noise and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is York County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,098. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $74,508 median income, cost of living beats 71% of counties.
Is York County safe?
Yes, York County is safer than 85% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $250 per resident a year.
Compare York County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to York County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in York 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.
York County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for York County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in York County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of York County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in York County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
York 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.