Do you live in one of the most miserable places in Nebraska?
According to a Harris Poll taken in October of 2015, only a third of Americans say they are truly happy. That’s too bad, considering that Americans – especially folks in Nebraska – don’t really have it too bad, in the grand scheme of things.
But, we were curious – which Nebraska cities might be the most miserable? We’re about to find out, using science and data.
After analyzing the largest cities, we sadly present the most miserable cities in the Cornhusker State:
- Omaha (Photos)
- Crete (Photos)
- Scottsbluff (Photos)
- Lexington
- Lincoln (Photos)
- Wayne (Photos)
- Central City
- Schuyler (Photos)
- Chadron (Photos)
- Norfolk (Photos)
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. If you have a smile on your face, you probably don’t live in one of these cities.
Oh, and by the way, Holdrege is the happiest place in Nebraska.
Or check out the Most Miserable Cities In America.
If you’re looking for something more positive, check out the best states in America or the best places to live in America.
How We Measured The Most Miserable Cities In Nebraska
In order to rank the unhappiest places in Nebraska, we had to determine what criteria makes people happy. It isn’t a stretch to assume that happy people earn great salaries, are relatively stress free, and have a stable home life.
So we went to the Census’s American Community Survey 2010-2014 report for the criteria, flipped the list, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- Percentage of residents with a college degree
- Average commute times
- Unemployment rates
- Cost of living
- % of married couples
- % of home owners
- Poverty rate
After we decided on the criteria, we gathered the data for the 108 places in Nebraska with over 2,000 people.
We then ranked each place from one to 49 for each of the seven criteria with a score of one being the most miserable (Any ties were given to the larger place).
Next, we averaged the seven rankings into a Miserable Index for each place with the lowest overall Miserable Index ‘earning’ the title ‘Most Miserable City In Nebraska’.
If you’d like to see the complete list of states, most miserable to happiest, scroll to the bottom of this post to see the unabridged chart.
1. Omaha
Population: 435,454
People Who Own Their Home: 53.49%
Married Adults: 44.29%
2. Crete
Population: 7,055
People Who Own Their Home: 52.32%
Married Adults: 43.19%
3. Scottsbluff
Population: 14,998
People Who Own Their Home: 53.71%
Married Adults: 44.91%
4. Lexington
Population: 10,189
People Who Own Their Home: 53.37%
Married Adults: 53.27%
5. Lincoln
Population: 265,811
People Who Own Their Home: 53.93%
Married Adults: 46.28%
6. Wayne
Population: 5,578
People Who Own Their Home: 49.57%
Married Adults: 40.84%
7. Central City
Population: 2,897
People Who Own Their Home: 60.31%
Married Adults: 50.0%
8. Schuyler
Population: 6,195
People Who Own Their Home: 63.03%
Married Adults: 51.34%
9. Chadron
Population: 5,829
People Who Own Their Home: 48.84%
Married Adults: 42.79%
10. Norfolk
Population: 24,364
People Who Own Their Home: 55.11%
Married Adults: 49.24%
There You Have It
Like we said earlier, trying to determine the most miserable cities in {state} is usually a subjective matter. But if you’re analyzing cities where people are not stable, where you’re stuck in traffic, and no one spent the time to go to college, then this is an accurate list.
If you’re curious enough, here are the happiest cities in {state}, according to science:
For more Nebraska reading , check out:
- These Are The 10 Snobbiest Places In Nebraska
- These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In Nebraska
- These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In Nebraska
Detailed List Of Miserable Places In Nebraska
| City | Rank |
|---|---|
| Omaha | 1 |
| Crete | 2 |
| Scottsbluff | 3 |
| Lexington | 4 |
| Lincoln | 5 |
| Wayne | 6 |
| Central City | 7 |
| Schuyler | 8 |
| Chadron | 9 |
| Norfolk | 10 |
| Fremont | 11 |
| Kimball | 12 |
| Ashland | 13 |
| Kearney | 14 |
| Alliance | 15 |
| Ralston | 16 |
| Fairbury | 17 |
| Auburn | 18 |
| Bellevue | 19 |
| Milford | 20 |
| Hastings | 21 |
| Wahoo | 22 |
| Plattsmouth | 23 |
| Beatrice | 24 |
| Ogallala | 25 |
| Blair | 26 |
| Cozad | 27 |
| Seward | 28 |
| York | 29 |
| Madison | 30 |
| Broken Bow | 31 |
| Ord | 32 |
| Columbus | 33 |
| Minden | 34 |
| Gering | 35 |
| Valentine | 36 |
| Mccook | 37 |
| Gothenburg | 38 |
| Sidney | 39 |
| Geneva | 40 |
| O’Neill | 41 |
| West Point | 42 |
| Papillion | 43 |
| Chalco | 44 |
| Gretna | 45 |
| Aurora | 46 |
| Waverly | 47 |
| Imperial | 48 |
| Holdrege | 49 |
We are two generations thinking seriously of moving to Nebraska…I cannot remember three of the towns that I was interested in..one was out of Omaha, it seems we turned south, traveled a few miles, found a nice motel and a truck stop across from each other..then we turned right and down a hill and found what appeared to the be remnants of a little, friendly town..guess I need to get a map of NE and then start studying …interested in Wilsonville and Cozad also.
Might be a city called Gretna. People commute from there to several different places in the area to work. Gretna is close enough to the interstate and other major state highways pass through or near there as well.
The town I am really interested in, is very small, it is 200 miles kind of north of Denver..I saw an exit out of this little berg stating Denver, 200 miles…I would buy there in a moment if all else was good..I am a Christian and conservative..and pretty well off.