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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Omaha rent up 3% over the past year. Rent in #1-ranked Omaha has increased from $1,359 to $1,403/mo over the past 12 months — a 3% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time. That's more or less in line with the region.
#1 Ranked: Omaha — cost index 82, rent $1,403/mo, income $72,708
Omaha rent up 3% over the past year
Student-budget scoring: rent $1,403/mo, food index 94, cost index 82 — survival-level affordability
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Omaha rent up 3% over the past year. Rent in #1-ranked Omaha has increased from $1,359 to $1,403/mo over the past 12 months — a 3% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time. That's more or less in line with the region.
Student life means every dollar counts. We scored 2 cities across Nebraska for rent, food, and cost of living. Omaha (rent $1,403/mo, cost index 82) ranks #1 for 2026.
Real talk: Why Omaha ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. 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.
Quick aside: when housing takes less of your income, the secondary effects are real — less financial stress, more discretionary spending, better local businesses.
Real talk: Balance that against the cost side: 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.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. About what you'd guess. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
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. Fairly typical for a city this size. 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. Year over year, that savings rate is portfolio-grade.
294,757 residents · Nebraska
Lincoln comes in at #2. And depending on your situation, rent is $1,293 a month. Household income is $69,991. The cost of living index is 76. That tracks (that's pre-tax, of course).
Omaha ranks #1 in Nebraska for this analysis with a cost index of 82 and median income of $72,708.
Omaha scores highest for students due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,403/mo, and competitive median income of $72,708.
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.
Omaha (ranked #1) has a cost index of 82 and rent of $1,403/mo, while Lincoln (ranked #2) has a cost index of 76 and rent of $1,293/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 Omaha is $1,403/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $492 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Omaha is $288,850, which is 4.0× 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.