Safest Places to Live in Nebraska of September 2026
Located in the Great Plains and the Midwestern region of the United States, Nebraska borders South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming.
Home to slightly over 1.9 million people, it is the 37th most populous state in the US. Nebraska’s capital is Lincoln, while the largest city is Omaha, which lies on the Missouri River and is home to approximately 450,000 people.
Nebraska was a land of many Native American people before being admitted to the United States in 1867. An interesting fact is that the government of Nebraska is officially nonpartisan.
Climate is rather dynamic and can bring tornadoes and violent thunderstorms, but also milder and enjoyable periods. The landscape of Nebraska portrays a lot of treeless prairies, which creates excellent conditions for cattle growth. Nebraska is an important producer of beef, pork, corn, and soybeans.
Ranking Criteria
ElitePersonalFinance extracted the latest data from the FBI crime statistics in the United States. We took violent crime as the main criteria. To get our score, we used this formula:
Crime Score = ( Total Number of Violent Crimes / Population ) * 1,000
This way, safer cities got the lowest score, and those more vulnerable to crimes got higher scores.
The cities that did not report crimes to the FBI and those under 5,000 residents were not included in the list.
10 Safest Places in Nebraska of September 2026
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Seward | Population:7250 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:0,28 |
| Rank:2 | City:Schuyler | Population:6396 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:0,47 |
| Rank:3 | City:Gering | Population:8189 | Total Number of Crimes:9 | Crime Score:1,10 |
| Rank:4 | City:La Vista | Population:17223 | Total Number of Crimes:19 | Crime Score:1,10 |
| Rank:5 | City:Columbus | Population:23406 | Total Number of Crimes:28 | Crime Score:1,20 |
| Rank:6 | City:Blair | Population:7836 | Total Number of Crimes:10 | Crime Score:1,28 |
| Rank:7 | City:Norfolk | Population:24698 | Total Number of Crimes:32 | Crime Score:1,30 |
| Rank:8 | City:McCook | Population:7533 | Total Number of Crimes:11 | Crime Score:1,46 |
| Rank:9 | City:Ralston | Population:7468 | Total Number of Crimes:12 | Crime Score:1,61 |
| Rank:10 | City:York | Population:7877 | Total Number of Crimes:13 | Crime Score:1,65 |
Crime Score in All Cities in Nebraska of September 2026
If your city didn’t make our list, you could see our full list of Nebraska cities.
We can’t compare crime rates in small and large cities. That’s why ElitePersonalFinance made a detailed analysis and narrowed the results according to population segments:
- Under 3,000 Residents
- 3,000 – 10,000 Residents
- Over 10,000 Residents
(Other sites don’t include places with under 3,000 residents, but we included them.)
These are the results that we got:
Under 3,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Emerson | Population:796 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:2 | City:Tilden | Population:934 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:3 | City:Ravenna | Population:1369 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:4 | City:Imperial | Population:2074 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:5 | City:Valley | Population:2904 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,34 |
| Rank:6 | City:Ashland | Population:2604 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:0,77 |
| Rank:7 | City:Madison | Population:2378 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:0,84 |
| Rank:8 | City:Minden | Population:2985 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:1,01 |
| Rank:9 | City:Superior | Population:1812 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:1,10 |
| Rank:10 | City:Tekamah | Population:1692 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:1,18 |
| Rank:11 | City:Central City | Population:2868 | Total Number of Crimes:6 | Crime Score:2,09 |
| Rank:12 | City:Ord | Population:2087 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:2,40 |
| Rank:13 | City:Valentine | Population:2751 | Total Number of Crimes:9 | Crime Score:3,27 |
| Rank:14 | City:Boys Town | Population:579 | Total Number of Crimes:8 | Crime Score:13,82 |
3,000 – 10,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Gothenburg | Population:3433 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:2 | City:Seward | Population:7250 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:0,28 |
| Rank:3 | City:West Point | Population:3307 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,30 |
| Rank:4 | City:Wahoo | Population:4513 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:0,44 |
| Rank:5 | City:Schuyler | Population:6396 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:0,47 |
| Rank:6 | City:Aurora | Population:4539 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:0,88 |
| Rank:7 | City:Gering | Population:8189 | Total Number of Crimes:9 | Crime Score:1,10 |
| Rank:8 | City:Blair | Population:7836 | Total Number of Crimes:10 | Crime Score:1,28 |
| Rank:9 | City:McCook | Population:7533 | Total Number of Crimes:11 | Crime Score:1,46 |
| Rank:10 | City:Cozad | Population:3757 | Total Number of Crimes:6 | Crime Score:1,60 |
| Rank:11 | City:Ralston | Population:7468 | Total Number of Crimes:12 | Crime Score:1,61 |
| Rank:12 | City:York | Population:7877 | Total Number of Crimes:13 | Crime Score:1,65 |
| Rank:13 | City:Chadron | Population:5446 | Total Number of Crimes:10 | Crime Score:1,84 |
| Rank:14 | City:Falls City | Population:4130 | Total Number of Crimes:8 | Crime Score:1,94 |
| Rank:15 | City:Broken Bow | Population:3532 | Total Number of Crimes:7 | Crime Score:1,98 |
| Rank:16 | City:O’Neill | Population:3615 | Total Number of Crimes:8 | Crime Score:2,21 |
| Rank:17 | City:Ogallala | Population:4476 | Total Number of Crimes:10 | Crime Score:2,23 |
| Rank:18 | City:Nebraska City | Population:7273 | Total Number of Crimes:18 | Crime Score:2,47 |
| Rank:19 | City:Holdrege | Population:5394 | Total Number of Crimes:14 | Crime Score:2,60 |
| Rank:20 | City:Plattsmouth | Population:6478 | Total Number of Crimes:17 | Crime Score:2,62 |
| Rank:21 | City:Sidney | Population:6331 | Total Number of Crimes:22 | Crime Score:3,47 |
| Rank:22 | City:Crete | Population:7094 | Total Number of Crimes:46 | Crime Score:6,48 |
Over 10,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:La Vista | Population:17223 | Total Number of Crimes:19 | Crime Score:1,10 |
| Rank:2 | City:Columbus | Population:23406 | Total Number of Crimes:28 | Crime Score:1,20 |
| Rank:3 | City:Norfolk | Population:24698 | Total Number of Crimes:32 | Crime Score:1,30 |
| Rank:4 | City:Beatrice | Population:12227 | Total Number of Crimes:22 | Crime Score:1,80 |
| Rank:5 | City:Hastings | Population:24778 | Total Number of Crimes:45 | Crime Score:1,82 |
| Rank:6 | City:Fremont | Population:26523 | Total Number of Crimes:49 | Crime Score:1,85 |
| Rank:7 | City:Papillion | Population:20580 | Total Number of Crimes:40 | Crime Score:1,94 |
| Rank:8 | City:Lexington | Population:10108 | Total Number of Crimes:20 | Crime Score:1,98 |
| Rank:9 | City:Bellevue | Population:53880 | Total Number of Crimes:110 | Crime Score:2,04 |
| Rank:10 | City:South Sioux City | Population:12771 | Total Number of Crimes:30 | Crime Score:2,35 |
| Rank:11 | City:Scottsbluff | Population:15862 | Total Number of Crimes:53 | Crime Score:3,34 |
| Rank:12 | City:North Platte | Population:23705 | Total Number of Crimes:89 | Crime Score:3,75 |
| Rank:13 | City:Lincoln | Population:291128 | Total Number of Crimes:1115 | Crime Score:3,83 |
| Rank:14 | City:Grand Island | Population:51821 | Total Number of Crimes:236 | Crime Score:4,55 |
| Rank:15 | City:Omaha | Population:470481 | Total Number of Crimes:2883 | Crime Score:6,13 |
Is your city safe enough? Are you worried because of the crime rate in your town? Do you have any thoughts on safety levels in the country?
How safe do you feel?
If you want to share anything, feel free to leave a comment. That way, you can help us understand your perspective better.
Thank you!
Archives
- Safest Places to Live in Nebraska 2020
- Safest Places to Live in Nebraska 2019
- Safest Places to Live in Nebraska 2018
- Safest Places to Live in Nebraska 2017
- Safest Places to Live in Nebraska 2016
Sources:
