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State relocation profile · Federal data

Nebraska

Cost of living, fair-market rent, wages, safety, schools and childcare for Nebraska - every figure straight from federal data.

90.1
Cost index (US=100)
$1,001
2BR rent / mo
$68,498
Median salary
61.5
Life Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Nebraska scores 61.5/100 (C) on the composite Life Score, with its strongest marks in cost of living and rent.

61.5
Life Score · C
90.1
Cost of living (US=100)
$68,498
Median annual salary (BLS)
$1,001
2BR fair-market rent / mo (HUD)

Weakest dimension: wages (30/100). State-level figures are a benchmark, individual metros can diverge sharply, so weigh each dimension against your own priorities.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and five other federal agencies, Nebraska has a cost-of-living index of 90.1 (100 = national average), a median 2-bedroom rent of $1,001/mo, and a median salary of $68,498. Its composite Life Score is 61.5/100 (C), with its strongest marks in cost of living and rent.

How Nebraska ranks nationally

Where Nebraska's composite Life Score falls among all 51 US states scored.

Life Score distribution - Nebraska marked 0 US states at 0–10 0 0 US states at 10–20 10 0 US states at 20–30 20 5 US states at 30–40 5 30 16 US states at 40–50 16 40 24 US states at 50–60 24 50 6 US states at 60–70 6 60 0 US states at 70–80 70 0 US states at 80–90 80 0 US states at 90–100 90 Life Score →
Top 8% by Life Score Higher Life Score than 92% of all 51 US states.

Nebraska has life score of 61.5. Distribution: 0 US states at 0-10; 0 US states at 10-20; 0 US states at 20-30; 5 US states at 30-40; 16 US states at 40-50; 24 US states at 50-60; 6 US states at 60-70; 0 US states at 70-80; 0 US states at 80-90; 0 US states at 90-100.

Evaluating Nebraska as a relocation target starts with the statewide BEA Regional Price Parity of 90.1 - where 100 is the national average, so every point above or below translates to percent-level cost of living difference. Housing costs in Nebraska index at 75.2, goods at 94.1, and services at 75.6. HUD Fair Market Rents averaged across Nebraska counties put a 2-bedroom at $1,001/month, the figure HUD uses to cap Section 8 voucher payments, so it reflects real submarket rents rather than listings bias.

On the income side, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a statewide median salary of $68,498 with a mean of $72,161 across 1,009,590 tracked jobs. For safety context, FBI UCR data shows a violent crime rate of 217 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 1631 per 100K. These state-level reads let you benchmark Nebraska against both your origin state and national medians before zooming into specific metros.

Family and education costs often decide a move. Department of Labor data for Nebraska shows center-based infant care running $9,863/year, preschool at $8,545/year, and toddler care at $9,338/year. Nebraska contains 3 metropolitan statistical areas in our dataset - Grand Island, Lincoln, Omaha - each with its own rent, wage and crime profile that can diverge sharply from the statewide average. The composite Life Score of 61.5/100 (C) folds all seven federal sources into one number for quick comparison.

Key Metrics

Cost of Living (RPP)
90.1
100 = national avg
Avg 2BR Rent (FMR)
$1,001
per month
Median Salary
$68,498
annual
Violent Crime Rate
217
per 100K

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for Nebraska (DOL data).

Infant (Center)
$9,863
per year
Toddler (Center)
$9,338
per year
Preschool (Center)
$8,545
per year

Life Score Breakdown

Nebraska's composite Life Score is 61.5/100 (C), computed across 7 dimensions.

Strongest dimension: Cost of living (80/100)

Nebraska - Life Score dimensions

Percentile vs all US states (100 = best in the nation for that dimension)

/100

What this shows Nebraska's strongest dimensions are cost of living and rent; its weakest is wages at 30/100. Each dimension is a federal-data percentile; the composite folds all seven into one comparable figure.

Source BEA · HUD · BLS · FBI · NCES · DOL · EPA As of Federal data, latest available vintage
Cost
80/100
Elite
Wages
30/100
Weak
Rent
78/100
Strong
Crime
76/100
Strong
Schools
34/100
Weak
Childcare
64/100
Above average
Environment
66/100
Strong

Metros in Nebraska

Explore detailed relocation data for 3 metropolitan areas in Nebraska.

Grand Island, NE Lincoln, NE Omaha, NE-IA

Relocation Guides

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Relocating within or to Nebraska?

State figures are the benchmark, drill into a metro before you commit.

  • Nebraska has 3 metro areas with rent, wage and crime profiles that diverge from the statewide average, start with Grand Island. View Grand Island
  • Put two places on the same scorecard across cost, rent, wages, safety and schools before you decide. Compare metros
  • See how every US metro ranks on the composite LiveAbility Score, then re-weight it to your priorities. Rankings

Cost, rent and wages are state-level reads; safety, schools and childcare use state data where metro-level isn't published. Always verify the latest figures at the official source before you move.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cost of living in Nebraska?
Nebraska has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 90.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 75.2, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom fair market rent is $1,001/month.
What is the median salary in Nebraska?
The median salary in Nebraska is $68,498 annually (mean: $72,161). Total employment across the state is 1,009,590.
How safe is Nebraska?
The violent crime rate in Nebraska is 217 per 100,000 population. The property crime rate is 1631 per 100K.
How much does childcare cost in Nebraska?
Infant center-based childcare in Nebraska averages $9,863 per year. Preschool averages $8,545/year. Toddler care averages $9,338/year. These are state-level averages from the Department of Labor.
How many metro areas are in Nebraska?
Nebraska has 3 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by PlainRelocate, including Grand Island, Lincoln, Omaha.
Is Nebraska a good state to relocate to?
Nebraska has a Life Score of 61.5/100 (C), based on 7 dimensions: cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment. This places Nebraska in the top decile of scored states, a genuinely strong all-around profile.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Data Sources

  • Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
  • Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
  • Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
  • Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
  • Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
  • Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL)
  • Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

This information is for research purposes only.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

Browse all → | Rankings →

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →

Every figure on PlainRelocate is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.