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Place dossier plate
SheetNE-HAYES-CENTER-NE · Hayes Center, NE 258 pop · income 50th 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 Hayes Center
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Hayes Center on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hammett · lowest
27,482
Hammett · lowest
27,482 median HH income
20.5% of the leader · rank #1
Hayes Center · this city
70,208
Hayes Center · this city
70,208 median HH income
52.4% of the leader · rank #2
Eagle Lake · near
70,208
Eagle Lake · near
70,208 median HH income
52.4% of the leader · rank #3
Winsted · near
70,208
Winsted · near
70,208 median HH income
52.4% of the leader · rank #4
Glenmoor · near
70,208
Glenmoor · near
70,208 median HH income
52.4% of the leader · rank #5
Haviland · near
70,208
Haviland · near
70,208 median HH income
52.4% of the leader · rank #6
Woodland Hills · highest
134,022
Woodland Hills · highest
134,022 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 Hayes Center 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: 258.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Hayes Center lands in the 50th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
50th
percentile, household income
4th
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: Hayes Center, NE
258 people live in Hayes Center, Nebraska - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $70,208 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 15.3%. Hayes Center's housing stock carries a median value of $83,300, and the median resident age is 54.1 years. About 16.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 66.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 0 residential units authorized here in 2024 (No Permits). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 50.2°F with 21.5 inches of precipitation per year and 30.2 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Nebraska run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Nebraska at 90.1 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,001 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Nebraska's average monthly utility costs around $207 (state average). 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 Hayes Center'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 housing and income to population change to climate and hazard context to work and mobility to schools and households to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Hayes Center, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Hayes Center?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 15.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Is Hayes Center growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -6 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.7% 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.
What physical conditions frame life in Hayes Center?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 50.2°F, with 21.5 inches of precipitation and 30.2 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.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Hayes Center?
Within Nebraska, the closest population matches are Gresham (257 residents, $42,500 income); Marquette (257 residents, $62,083 income); Woodland Hills (256 residents, $134,022 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Hammett, ID (258 residents); Alexander, IL (258 residents); Oakford, IL (258 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.
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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Hayes Center?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 68.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
11.1%
Drive alone
68.8%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 144 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Hayes Center?
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 16.3% 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.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Matched public schools
2
Bachelor's degree+
16.3%
Poverty estimate
15.3%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 15.3% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.1 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Nebraska average
D
City profile score · Hayes Center, NE
47/100
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 C-
$70,208
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
16.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
15.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Hayes Center profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.1 index
Household income: 50/100 (C-) · $70,208
Bachelor's+ share: 24/100 (F) · 16.3%
Poverty rate: 22/100 (F) · 15.3%
How does Hayes Center compare to other US cities?
Where Hayes Center sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income50% higher than other cities
Home value4% 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 Hayes Center 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 Hayes Center near the bottom of Nebraska's cities
Among the 450 Nebraska cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Hayes Center ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Hayes Center only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#165 of 439
62nd percentile in Nebraska
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 450
0th percentile in Nebraska
Median Home Value
#331 of 438
24th percentile in Nebraska
Poverty Rate
#46 of 450
90th percentile in Nebraska
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#298 of 450
33rd 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
50th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Hayes Center's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$83,300Among the most affordablemore affordable than 96% 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
Hayes Center's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#111 of 15,516
More affordable than 99% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#110 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.2×, Hayes Center sits in the affordable band:
national rank #111 of 15,516 and #110 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
$70,208Hayes Center, NE median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Hayes Center, 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 Hayes Center, NE.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)16.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)15.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)66.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
258
Median Income
$70,208
Median Home Value
$83,300
Median Age
54.1
Poverty Rate
15.3%
Labor force participation
66.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
16.3%
Climate
Avg Temperature
50.2°F
Annual Precipitation
21.5"
Annual Snowfall
30.2"
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Hayes Center's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
224 residents
2021
222 residents
2022
228 residents
2023
221 residents
2024
222 residents
2025
218 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
68.8%
Carpool
6.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
7.6%
Work from Home
11.1%
Other
6.2%
Based on 144 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 Hayes Center. 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 Hayes Center 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 Hayes Center sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Hayes Center 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.