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Place dossier plate
SheetNE-ELK-CREEK-NE · Elk Creek, NE 129 pop · income 28th pct
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 Elk Creek
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Elk Creek on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Tillar · lowest
36,250
Tillar · lowest
36,250 median HH income
40.6% of the leader · rank #1
Berlin · near
55,216
Berlin · near
55,216 median HH income
61.8% of the leader · rank #2
San Miguel · near
55,219
San Miguel · near
55,219 median HH income
61.8% of the leader · rank #3
Elk Creek · this city
55,227
Elk Creek · this city
55,227 median HH income
61.8% of the leader · rank #4
Risingsun · near
55,227
Risingsun · near
55,227 median HH income
61.8% of the leader · rank #5
Greensburg · near
55,238
Greensburg · near
55,238 median HH income
61.8% of the leader · rank #6
Alvo · highest
89,375
Alvo · highest
89,375 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 Elk Creek 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: 129.
Nationally, Elk Creek sits in the 28th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
28th
percentile, household income
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: Elk Creek, NE
Nebraska's Elk Creek is a small town, with 129 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Elk Creek households earn a median of $55,227 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 23.5%. The median resident age is 50.4 years. About 8.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 56.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 0 residential units authorized here in 2024 (No Permits).
Living costs in Nebraska run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Nebraska scores 90.1 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,001 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Nebraska run around $207, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 25.8 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Elk Creek'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 comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Elk Creek, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Elk Creek growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -1 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 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 downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Which cities make useful reference points for Elk Creek?
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 Alvo (129 residents, $89,375 income); Princeton (130 residents); Inman (131 residents, $49,250 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Bodcaw, AR (129 residents); Higden, AR (129 residents); Tillar, AR (129 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Elk Creek?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 83.1%. 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. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Below median income · poverty 23.5% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.1 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Nebraska average
F
City profile score · Elk Creek, NE
33/100
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.
Household income F
$55,227
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
23.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
8.9%
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).
Elk Creek profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.1 index
Household income: 28/100 (F) · $55,227
Poverty rate: 8/100 (F) · 23.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 3/100 (F) · 8.9%
How does Elk Creek compare to other US cities?
Where Elk Creek sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income28% higher 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 Elk Creek 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 Elk Creek near the bottom of Nebraska's cities
Among the 450 Nebraska cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Elk Creek ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Elk Creek only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#317 of 439
28th percentile in Nebraska
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 450
0th percentile in Nebraska
Poverty Rate
#14 of 450
97th percentile in Nebraska
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#397 of 450
11th 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
28th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Income distribution context
$55,227Elk Creek, NE median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Elk Creek, 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 Elk Creek, NE.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)8.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)23.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)56.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
129
Median Income
$55,227
Median Home Value
N/A
Median Age
50.4
Poverty Rate
23.5%
Labor force participation
56.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
8.9%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Elk Creek's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
68 residents
2021
68 residents
2022
67 residents
2023
66 residents
2024
67 residents
2025
67 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
83.1%
Carpool
10.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
3.1%
Work from Home
3.1%
Based on 65 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 Elk Creek. 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 Elk Creek 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 Elk Creek sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Elk Creek 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, 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.