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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The numbers are clear: 2 of 2 cities in Nebraska beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. Lincoln stands out at 76 on the index, with rent of $1,293/month and household income of $69,991. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
The numbers are clear: 2 of 2 cities in Nebraska beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. Lincoln stands out at 76 on the index, with rent of $1,293/month and household income of $69,991. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Here's Lincoln by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 76. Rent: $1,293/month. Income: $69,991/year. Home price: $285,359. Population: 294,757. The strongest category is Housing at 76; the most expensive is Healthcare at 95. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $7,224 per year vs. the national median. If two cities have the same income, this cost gap is the tiebreaker.
The transportation sub-index is derived from overall cost of living with regional BLS price adjustments. A score of 95 (the top-10 average here) means transportation costs are about 5% below the national median. Lincoln leads at 94, followed by Omaha (95) and Omaha (95). Note: a low transportation index doesn't guarantee a low overall cost — check the full cost breakdown table below.
Against the national baseline, though: The 2 cities we track in Nebraska paint a clearly affordable picture. That's more or less in line with the region. Average cost index: 79. Median rent: $1,348/month. Household income: $71,350. Nebraska is known for flyover affordability hiding in plain sight — and the data backs that reputation convincingly. Hard to argue with that.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
#1 Ranked: Lincoln — cost index 76, rent $1,293/mo, income $69,991
2 of 2 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
294,757 residents · Nebraska
Here's Lincoln by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 76. Rent: $1,293/month. Income: $69,991/year. Home price: $285,359. Population: 294,757. The strongest category is Housing at 76; the most expensive is Healthcare at 95. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $7,224 per year vs. the national median. That's a meaningful edge in practice.
483,335 residents · Nebraska
Why Omaha ranks #2: the numbers tell a clear story. And broadly, at 82 on the cost index, residents save roughly 29% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,403/month while the median household pulls in $72,708/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 82, though Healthcare (96) lags behind. Home prices average $288,850 — $178,520 below the national median.
Cities are ranked by their transportation cost sub-index within Nebraska. Each sub-index is derived from the overall cost of living with regional adjustment factors. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Lincoln ranks #1 in Nebraska for this analysis with a cost index of 76 and median income of $69,991.
Lincoln, NE has the lowest transportation index at 94, compared to the national average of 100.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Lincoln (ranked #1) has a cost index of 76 and rent of $1,293/mo, while Omaha (ranked #2) has a cost index of 82 and rent of $1,403/mo — a 6-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Lincoln is $1,293/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $602 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Lincoln is $285,359, which is 4.1× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
Nebraska has a 5.84% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 6.94%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.54%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.