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Place dossier plate
SheetNE-CENTRAL-CITY-NE · Central City, NE 3,039 pop · income 38th pct · 3 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Central City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Central City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Chaffee · lowest
41,024
Chaffee · lowest
41,024 median HH income
18.6% of the leader · rank #1
Susquehanna T… · near
62,011
Susquehanna T… · near
62,011 median HH income
28.2% of the leader · rank #2
Central City · this city
62,012
Central City · this city
62,012 median HH income
28.2% of the leader · rank #3
Danube · near
62,014
Danube · near
62,014 median HH income
28.2% of the leader · rank #4
Wabasha · near
62,016
Wabasha · near
62,016 median HH income
28.2% of the leader · rank #5
Walnut · near
62,019
Walnut · near
62,019 median HH income
28.2% of the leader · rank #6
Chappaqua · highest
220,139
Chappaqua · highest
220,139 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Central City on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 3,039.
Central City ranks in the 38th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
38th
percentile, household income
29th
percentile, home value
15th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Central City, NE
Central City is a small town in Nebraska, home to 3,039 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Central City brings in $62,012 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.9%. Central City's housing stock carries a median value of $158,300, and the median resident age is 38.8 years. 19.7% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 64.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 24 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 200% from five years earlier. NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 50.3°F with 28.5 inches of precipitation per year and 28.6 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Nebraska run below the national norm: the state registers 90.1 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,001 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Nebraska's average monthly utility costs around $207 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 25.8 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Central City's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to within-city variation to housing and income to comparison shortlist to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Central City, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Central City growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +169 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 24 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
What does the journey to work look like in Central City?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 86.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
What can 3 Census tracts reveal inside Central City?
PlainCities matches 3 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
Which cities make useful reference points for Central City?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Nebraska, the closest population matches are Minden (3,020 residents, $64,846 income); David City (3,013 residents, $66,585 income); Ashland (3,083 residents, $80,948 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Chaffee, MO (3,039 residents); East Syracuse, NY (3,039 residents); Little Flock, AR (3,040 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Central City?
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 50.3°F, with 28.5 inches of precipitation and 28.6 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Nebraska is 25.8 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
25.8
Annual precipitation
28.5 in
Mean temperature
50.3°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
How far does income reach against housing in Central City?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.6×
Home value
$158,300
Household income
$62,012
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the education layer cover for Central City?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 19.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
5.9%
Bachelor's degree+
19.7%
Matched public schools
3
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 5.9% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.1 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Nebraska average
C-
City profile score · Central City, NE
54/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A
90.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate C+
5.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$62,012
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
19.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Central City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.1 index
Poverty rate: 60/100 (C+) · 5.9%
Household income: 38/100 (F) · $62,012
Bachelor's+ share: 33/100 (F) · 19.7%
How does Central City compare to other US cities?
Where Central City sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income38% higher than other cities
Home value29% pricier than other cities
Median rent15% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Central City against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Nebraska only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Nebraska-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Central City near the bottom of Nebraska's cities
Among the 450 Nebraska cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Central City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Central City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#244 of 439
44th percentile in Nebraska
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 450
0th percentile in Nebraska
Median Home Value
#121 of 438
72nd percentile in Nebraska
Poverty Rate
#221 of 450
50th percentile in Nebraska
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#236 of 450
47th percentile in Nebraska
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Nebraska only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
38th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Central City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$158,300Among the most affordablemore affordable than 71% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Central City's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,273 of 15,516
More affordable than 72% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,828 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.6×, Central City sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,273 of 15,516 and #3,828 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$62,012Central City, NE median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Central City, NE median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Central City, NE.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)19.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)64.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
3,039
Median Income
$62,012
Median Home Value
$158,300
Median Age
38.8
Poverty Rate
5.9%
Labor force participation
64.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
19.7%
Climate
Avg Temperature
50.3°F
Annual Precipitation
28.5"
Annual Snowfall
28.6"
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Central City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
3,015 residents
2021
3,018 residents
2022
3,053 residents
2023
3,082 residents
2024
3,147 residents
2025
3,184 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
24
housing units authorized
Single-Family
16
detached homes
Multifamily
8
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
7.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
8
8
0
$1.0M
2020
14
6
8
$1.7M
2021
22
12
10
$3.8M
2022
11
11
0
$2.8M
2023
35
11
24
$5.5M
2024
24
16
8
$5.4M
Permit volume increased 200% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
86.8%
Carpool
6.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
3.7%
Work from Home
2.8%
Based on 1,419 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Nebraska statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $207
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Nebraska at $207 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Nebraska statewide averages, not a meter reading for Central City. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Nebraska's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.1 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Central City is $1,001/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Nebraska statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 25.8 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Nebraska statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Central City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Central City compares to similar-size Nebraska cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.