The 10 Worst Small Towns In Nebraska For 2025

Most Americans have never been to small town Nebraska. However, as the Nebraskan who live there know, small town Nebraska is an awesome place to call home.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Nebraska has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Cornhusker State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.

After analyzing more than 83 of Nebraska’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Nebraska where you’d never want to live:

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Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

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These are the worst small towns in Nebraska for 2025:

1. Fullerton
2. Falls City
3. Plainview
4. Auburn
5. Madison
6. Bridgeport
7. Ogallala
8. Mitchell
9. Wymore
10. Tecumseh

So what is the worst small town to call home in Nebraska for 2025? According to the most recent census data, Fullerton is the worst small town to live in Nebraska.

While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Fullerton home. Everyone

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Nebraska or the worst places to live in Nebraska.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Nebraska For 2025

1. Fullerton

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,463
Median Home Value: $120,700
Median Income: $54,375
Unemployment Rate: 4.3%

2. Falls City

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 4,099
Median Home Value: $91,900
Median Income: $45,750
Unemployment Rate: 6.5%

3. Plainview

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,241
Median Home Value: $86,900
Median Income: $56,100
Unemployment Rate: 8.4%

4. Auburn

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 3,468
Median Home Value: $98,900
Median Income: $58,674
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%

5. Madison

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,074
Median Home Value: $116,000
Median Income: $56,932
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%

6. Bridgeport

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,403
Median Home Value: $100,600
Median Income: $59,643
Unemployment Rate: 8.9%

7. Ogallala

Source: Wikipedia User Coemgenus | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,800
Median Home Value: $135,500
Median Income: $55,481
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%

8. Mitchell

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,804
Median Home Value: $114,900
Median Income: $50,250
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%

9. Wymore

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,287
Median Home Value: $57,600
Median Income: $56,051
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%

10. Tecumseh

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,844
Median Home Value: $104,300
Median Income: $46,127
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%

Next 10 Towns

Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Nebraska is lousy or not?

To rank the worst small towns to live in Nebraska, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.

We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.

Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2019-2023 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

• Population Density (The lower, the worse)
• Highest Unemployment Rates
• Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
• Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
• Education (Number of high school dropouts)
• High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 83 to be exact.

We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2025, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Nebraska.

There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Nebraska

If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Cornhusker State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

The worst small towns in Nebraska are Fullerton, Falls City, Plainview, Auburn, Madison, Bridgeport, Ogallala, Mitchell, Wymore, and Tecumseh.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Nebraska, according to science:

1. Ceresco (Pop. 1,355)
2. Waverly (Pop. 4,363)
3. Hickman (Pop. 2,834)

For more Nebraska reading, check out:

Worst Small Towns In Nebraska

Rank	Town	Population	Unemployment Rate	Home Value	Median Income
1	Fullerton	1,463	4.3%	$120,700	$54,375
2	Falls City	4,099	6.5%	$91,900	$45,750
3	Plainview	1,241	8.4%	$86,900	$56,100
4	Auburn	3,468	3.8%	$98,900	$58,674
5	Madison	2,074	4.4%	$116,000	$56,932
6	Bridgeport	1,403	8.9%	$100,600	$59,643
7	Ogallala	4,800	2.6%	$135,500	$55,481
8	Mitchell	1,804	4.9%	$114,900	$50,250
9	Wymore	1,287	3.0%	$57,600	$56,051
10	Tecumseh	1,844	3.4%	$104,300	$46,127
11	Cozad	3,944	1.1%	$118,600	$50,161
12	Fairbury	3,905	1.2%	$90,800	$51,782
13	Superior	1,833	1.7%	$69,300	$61,852
14	Tekamah	1,691	2.8%	$113,900	$54,139
15	Kimball	2,153	0.0%	$105,700	$57,153
16	Burwell	1,020	3.3%	$125,000	$64,821
17	Broken Bow	3,524	5.8%	$124,600	$56,438
18	Wakefield	1,288	4.2%	$110,300	$57,500
19	Gordon	1,646	1.5%	$93,300	$58,906
20	Shelton	1,354	6.4%	$137,100	$75,781
21	Creighton	1,199	2.2%	$103,700	$53,167
22	Imperial	2,182	1.8%	$176,700	$71,667
23	Harvard	1,001	0.9%	$98,400	$67,813
24	Ainsworth	1,632	1.3%	$90,500	$51,667
25	Ord	2,186	0.6%	$109,500	$53,274
26	Cairo	1,117	1.9%	$184,000	$55,179
27	Atkinson	1,433	5.4%	$147,600	$72,857
28	Arapahoe	1,010	0.0%	$95,000	$63,173
29	Ravenna	1,352	2.1%	$129,600	$64,844
30	Wood River	1,426	5.2%	$131,400	$76,591
31	Bayard	1,509	2.5%	$107,900	$61,818
32	O’neill	3,574	0.0%	$130,900	$66,458
33	Oakland	1,572	0.0%	$150,600	$66,202
34	Dakota City	2,980	6.2%	$170,200	$80,433
35	Hebron	1,641	1.8%	$117,400	$61,207
36	Stromsburg	1,007	1.5%	$159,100	$61,182
37	Neligh	1,636	3.2%	$145,100	$60,000
38	Gibbon	1,643	4.5%	$151,700	$69,762
39	West Point	3,479	0.7%	$209,200	$63,977
40	Central City	3,039	0.0%	$158,300	$62,012
41	Sutherland	1,224	2.6%	$176,500	$73,750
42	Cambridge	1,036	0.0%	$104,800	$60,066
43	Weeping Water	1,244	8.7%	$191,600	$67,083
44	North Bend	1,225	2.2%	$162,700	$84,345
45	Sutton	1,349	0.6%	$151,300	$80,714
46	Elm Creek	1,146	2.1%	$197,100	$75,625
47	Hooper	1,078	2.4%	$168,100	$75,800
48	Gothenburg	3,436	2.3%	$173,200	$79,519
49	Grant	1,392	0.7%	$148,800	$70,000
50	Wisner	1,436	0.9%	$134,800	$66,875
51	Wilber	2,178	1.6%	$154,700	$80,227
52	Alma	1,176	0.4%	$158,200	$68,333
53	Stanton	1,824	1.3%	$161,300	$73,571
54	David City	3,013	0.1%	$158,800	$66,585
55	Valentine	2,632	0.0%	$135,600	$53,438
56	Minden	3,020	1.8%	$188,100	$64,846
57	Syracuse	1,964	2.1%	$190,000	$70,625
58	Utica	1,092	1.2%	$179,700	$81,797
59	Pender	1,262	2.4%	$165,900	$67,419
60	Aurora	4,665	4.2%	$221,700	$71,051
61	Pierce	1,986	1.4%	$157,600	$64,167
62	Fort Calhoun	1,246	0.9%	$271,600	$96,071
63	Geneva	2,214	0.5%	$156,900	$79,750
64	Wahoo	4,885	3.5%	$227,100	$81,544
65	St. Paul	2,574	1.1%	$184,400	$58,493
66	Woodland Park	1,648	0.0%	$161,500	$77,880
67	Albion	1,733	1.9%	$210,800	$70,761
68	Valley	3,113	2.5%	$515,100	$106,750
69	Hartington	1,736	1.1%	$169,000	$78,304
70	Yutan	1,535	2.5%	$184,900	$89,531
71	Ashland	3,083	4.9%	$229,100	$80,948
72	Milford	2,656	0.4%	$225,200	$80,997
73	Arlington	1,437	0.6%	$222,500	$95,278
74	Eagle	1,089	3.5%	$161,800	$76,500
75	Friend	1,085	0.9%	$171,200	$84,861
76	Battle Creek	1,478	0.0%	$188,100	$93,750
77	Bennington	2,417	2.7%	$337,600	$98,375
78	Springfield	1,620	4.2%	$237,300	$92,153
79	Louisville	1,393	2.0%	$204,700	$97,115
80	Bennet	1,174	1.8%	$252,400	$100,417
81	Ceresco	1,355	2.0%	$186,300	$103,906
82	Waverly	4,363	0.0%	$290,000	$110,000
83	Hickman	2,834	0.3%	$294,200	$104,219