The cost of living in Nebraska is 0.2% lower than the US average. According to MIT, the required living wage for a family of four with two working parents in Nebraska is $89,596 vs the national average for a family of four with two working parents of $89,744. The median income of a Nebraska household is $63,015.
The average home price in Nebraska is $164,000, which is lower than the US average home price of $229,800. Median rent in Nebraska is $857/mo which is lower than the US average rent of $1,096/mo. If you want to adjust homes prices to local incomes, the ratio of home prices to median household income is about 2.6 to 1. That means it takes roughly 2.6 years of a full salary to pay off a house. That compares to the national average of 3.5 to 1.
All in all, Nebraska has a low cost of living compared to America as a whole.
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No, Nebraska is not a dangerous state as it ranks as the #22 safest state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in Nebraska ranks 29th most dangerous in the United States -- 9.66% better than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Cornhusker State ranks 28th most dangerous in the United States -- 2.31% better than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.
Yes, Omaha is a dangerous city. Omaha ranks as the #88 most dangerous out of 328 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Omaha might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are.
Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Omaha ranks 13highest in America -- 1.38% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 79th highest in the United States -- 27.1% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 and that no city in America is "dangerous". Despite the uptick in murders, it's nothing like you'd see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.
The county in Nebraska with the lowest cost of living is Brown County. The average living wage in Brown County is $85,784 according to MIT data. Brown County has the lowest cost of living because it has relatively less expensive childcare and housing costs compared to Nebraska as a whole. Childcare costs $13,983 a year in Brown County for two children compared to the Nebraska average of $15,649. Housing costs, defined as a blend of the average rent and average mortgage payment, are $8,808 per year in Brown County compared to $10,488 on average in Nebraska.
The cheapest housing market in Nebraska is Schuyler. The average home value in Schuyler is $87,700, the lowest in the state. The average home value in Nebraska is $164,000, almost 1.9 times higher than Schuyler.