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Place dossier plate
SheetNE-LA-VISTA-NE · La Vista, NE 16,594 pop · income 60th pct · 1 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 La Vista
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest La Vista on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Clearlake · lowest
41,580
Clearlake · lowest
41,580 median HH income
32.0% of the leader · rank #1
Port St. Lucie · near
78,137
Port St. Lucie · near
78,137 median HH income
60.1% of the leader · rank #2
Naylor · near
78,141
Naylor · near
78,141 median HH income
60.1% of the leader · rank #3
La Vista · this city
78,145
La Vista · this city
78,145 median HH income
60.1% of the leader · rank #4
Aldan · near
78,147
Aldan · near
78,147 median HH income
60.2% of the leader · rank #5
Battle Mounta… · near
78,149
Battle Mounta… · near
78,149 median HH income
60.2% of the leader · rank #6
Farmingville · highest
129,920
Farmingville · highest
129,920 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for La Vista on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 16,594.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
La Vista - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, La Vista places in the 60th percentile for household income and the 55th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
60th
percentile, household income
55th
percentile, home value
15th
percentile, median rent
55th
percentile, safety
📝 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: La Vista, NE
16,594 people live in La Vista, Nebraska - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. La Vista households earn a median of $78,145 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.0%. Typical homes in La Vista are valued around $244,900, and the median resident age is 35.4 years. 35.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 73.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 264 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 167% from five years earlier. La Vista reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 1234.2 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
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. Monthly utility costs average around $207 across Nebraska, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 25.8 out of 100 (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of La Vista'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 work and mobility to housing and income to population change to within-city variation to comparison shortlist to reported crime to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For La Vista, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in La Vista?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.8%. 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. 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.
How far does income reach against housing in La Vista?
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 3.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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 La Vista?
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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Nebraska, the closest population matches are Scottsbluff (14,406 residents, $53,448 income); South Sioux City (13,871 residents, $68,397 income); Beatrice (12,233 residents, $54,583 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Warsaw, IN (16,592 residents); Palmetto Estates, FL (16,587 residents); Clearlake, CA (16,604 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.
Population change
Is La Vista growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -234 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 264 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.
2020 estimate
16,777
2025 estimate
16,543
Period change
-1.4%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What can the FBI record say about safety in La Vista?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1234.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 46% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
1234.2
Violent rate
49.4
Property rate
1184.8
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
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 5 public schools within the city match. 35.8% 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
4.0%
Bachelor's degree+
35.8%
Matched public schools
5
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 4.0% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.1 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Nebraska average
B
City profile score · La Vista, NE
73/100
5 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.
Violent crime A-
49 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate B
4.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share B-
35.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C
$78,145
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
La Vista profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.1 index
Violent crime: 84/100 (A-) · 49 /100k
Poverty rate: 72/100 (B) · 4.0%
Bachelor's+ share: 68/100 (B-) · 35.8%
Household income: 58/100 (C) · $78,145
Where La Vista sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
La Vista's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - La Vista highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
La Vista, NE (this city): home $244,900, crime 1,234/100k
Warsaw, IN : home $175,300, crime 2,174/100k
Clearlake, CA : home $204,500, crime 2,413/100k
Fairburn, GA : home $249,200, crime 1,144/100k
Scottsbluff, NE : home $141,300, crime 3,371/100k
South Sioux City, NE : home $160,900, crime 2,833/100k
Beatrice, NE : home $152,900, crime 905/100k
Lexington, NE : home $155,200, crime 1,482/100k
North Platte, NE : home $159,500, crime 2,730/100k
How does La Vista compare to other US cities?
Here's how La Vista stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income60% higher than other cities
Home value55% pricier than other cities
Median rent15% pricier than other cities
Safety55% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Nebraska, La Vista ranks #26 of 44 Nebraska cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares La Vista 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 La Vista near the bottom of Nebraska's cities
Among the 450 Nebraska cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, La Vista ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares La Vista only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#99 of 439
77th percentile in Nebraska
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 450
0th percentile in Nebraska
Median Home Value
#20 of 438
95th percentile in Nebraska
Poverty Rate
#279 of 450
37th percentile in Nebraska
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#34 of 450
92nd 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
60th percentile nationally for median household income · 55th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
La Vista's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
La Vista's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How La Vista's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$244,90045th percentilemore affordable than 45% 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
La Vista's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,360 of 15,516
More affordable than 53% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,092 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.1×, La Vista sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,360 of 15,516 and #1,092 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
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
$78,145La Vista, NE median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context La Vista, 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 La Vista, NE.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)35.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)73.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
16,594
Median Income
$78,145
Median Home Value
$244,900
Median Age
35.4
Poverty Rate
4.0%
Labor force participation
73.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
35.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1234.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
49.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1184.8
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
5
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
La Vista's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
16,777 residents
2021
16,682 residents
2022
16,399 residents
2023
16,383 residents
2024
16,517 residents
2025
16,543 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
264
housing units authorized
Single-Family
84
detached homes
Multifamily
180
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
15.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
99
3
96
$5.1M
2020
229
7
222
$18.8M
2021
86
2
84
$9.4M
2022
71
0
71
$4.5M
2023
1
1
0
$0.3M
2024
264
84
180
$27.4M
Permit volume increased 167% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.8%
Carpool
7.1%
Public Transit
0.6%
Walk
0.1%
Work from Home
13.4%
Other
1.0%
Based on 9,915 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 La Vista. 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 La Vista 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 La Vista sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How La Vista 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, FBI UCR, 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.