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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Single-income living requires cities where one paycheck covers everything. We scored 2 cities across Nebraska on rent, cost of living, and population. Lincoln ($1,293/mo, 294,757 residents) ranks #1.
#1 Ranked: Lincoln — cost index 76, rent $1,293/mo, income $69,991
Singles scoring: rent $1,293/mo (solo housing), cost index 76, population 294,757 — livability on one income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Single-income living requires cities where one paycheck covers everything. We scored 2 cities across Nebraska on rent, cost of living, and population. Lincoln ($1,293/mo, 294,757 residents) ranks #1.
The #1 spot goes to Lincoln, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,293/month — saving renters $7,224 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 76, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 95. At a 22% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
Contrast this with: State context matters: Nebraska's 2 cities average a 79 cost index with $1,348/month median rent and $71,350 household income. Flyover affordability hiding in plain sight. Below, we isolate the healthcare number — it's the wild card.
Bottom line: Lincoln leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. And in most cases, click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
294,757 residents · Nebraska
Dive into Lincoln's numbers: cost index 76 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — (35 points below national average), rent $1,293/month, income $69,991, and a home price of $285,359. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 76, while Healthcare runs 95. With 294,757 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
483,335 residents · Nebraska
Here's Omaha by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 82. Rent: $1,403/month. Income: $72,708/year. Home price: $288,850. Population: 483,335. The strongest category is Housing at 82; the most expensive is Healthcare at 96. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $5,904 per year vs. the national median. That's the kind of stat homebuyers should print out for their mortgage meetings.
Lincoln ranks #1 in Nebraska for this analysis with a cost index of 76 and median income of $69,991.
Lincoln scores highest for singles due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,293/mo, and competitive median income of $69,991.
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.