The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Cornhusker State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.
While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.
We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Nebraska have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.
A recent study we published found that Nebraska is the 10th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 101.
But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Nebraska are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Dumbest Places In Nebraska
Don’t freak out.
Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.
For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 5,000, leaving us 30 cities in Nebraska to rank. You can take a look at the data below.
For more Nebraska reading, check out:
The 10 Dumbest Places In Nebraska For 2025
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% Adult High School Dropout: 38.0%
% Highly Educated: 14.0%
More on Lexington: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 18.0%
% Highly Educated: 20.0%
More on Grand Island: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 12.0%
% Highly Educated: 21.0%
More on Fremont: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 10.0%
% Highly Educated: 23.0%
More on Columbus: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 13.0%
% Highly Educated: 26.0%
More on Scottsbluff: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 10.0%
% Highly Educated: 25.0%
More on Holdrege: Data
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Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Cornhusker State
We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.
So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.
In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Nebraska:
- % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)
We got the data from the U.S. Census 2019-2023 American Community Survey.
Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Nebraska from dumbest to brightest.
For this ranking, we used every Nebraska city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2025, and it’s our tenth time ranking the dumbest cities in Nebraska.
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
If you’re measuring the locations in Nebraska where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.
The dumbest cities in Nebraska are Schuyler, Lexington, Crete, Grand Island, Fremont, Alliance, Columbus, Scottsbluff, Holdrege, and Sidney.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in Nebraska, according to science:
- Gretna
- Papillion
- Chadron
For more Nebraska reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Nebraska
- Cheapest Places To Live In Nebraska
- Most Dangerous Cities In Nebraska
- Richest Cities In Nebraska
- Safest Places In Nebraska
- Worst Places To Live In Nebraska
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Nebraska
Dumbest Cities In Nebraska For 2025
| Rank | City | Population | % Adult High School Dropout | % Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schuyler, NE | 6,517 | 34.0% | 9.0% |
| 2 | Lexington, NE | 10,693 | 38.0% | 14.0% |
| 3 | Crete, NE | 7,521 | 33.0% | 16.0% |
| 4 | Grand Island, NE | 52,761 | 18.0% | 20.0% |
| 5 | Fremont, NE | 27,321 | 12.0% | 21.0% |
| 6 | Alliance, NE | 8,089 | 9.0% | 19.0% |
| 7 | Columbus, NE | 24,188 | 10.0% | 23.0% |
| 8 | Scottsbluff, NE | 14,406 | 13.0% | 26.0% |
| 9 | Holdrege, NE | 5,503 | 10.0% | 25.0% |
| 10 | Sidney, NE | 6,396 | 8.0% | 18.0% |
| 11 | Beatrice, NE | 12,233 | 8.0% | 20.0% |
| 12 | Ralston, NE | 6,445 | 10.0% | 28.0% |
| 13 | North Platte, NE | 23,030 | 7.0% | 19.0% |
| 14 | York, NE | 8,114 | 8.0% | 26.0% |
| 15 | Hastings, NE | 25,005 | 9.0% | 28.0% |
| 16 | Norfolk, NE | 25,962 | 7.0% | 24.0% |
| 17 | Gering, NE | 8,567 | 8.0% | 29.0% |
| 18 | Omaha, NE | 488,197 | 9.0% | 41.0% |
| 19 | Plattsmouth, NE | 6,680 | 4.0% | 25.0% |
| 20 | Bellevue, NE | 64,355 | 7.0% | 34.0% |
| 21 | Lincoln, NE | 291,932 | 8.0% | 41.0% |
| 22 | Mccook, NE | 7,360 | 4.0% | 27.0% |
| 23 | Wayne, NE | 6,055 | 6.0% | 34.0% |
| 24 | Kearney, NE | 34,024 | 7.0% | 37.0% |
| 25 | Seward, NE | 7,665 | 5.0% | 37.0% |
| 26 | Blair, NE | 7,868 | 4.0% | 36.0% |
| 27 | La Vista, NE | 16,594 | 4.0% | 36.0% |
| 28 | Chadron, NE | 5,207 | 7.0% | 42.0% |
| 29 | Papillion, NE | 24,063 | 4.0% | 48.0% |
| 30 | Gretna, NE | 9,117 | 1.0% | 54.0% |