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Place dossier plate
SheetNE-UNION-NE · Union, NE 239 pop · income 31st 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 Union
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Union on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Cornwall Brid… · lowest
30,357
Cornwall Brid… · lowest
30,357 median HH income
19.2% of the leader · rank #1
Union · this city
57,500
Union · this city
57,500 median HH income
36.4% of the leader · rank #2
Pitkas Point · near
57,500
Pitkas Point · near
57,500 median HH income
36.4% of the leader · rank #3
Meredosia · near
57,500
Meredosia · near
57,500 median HH income
36.4% of the leader · rank #4
Wataga · near
57,500
Wataga · near
57,500 median HH income
36.4% of the leader · rank #5
Auburn · near
57,500
Auburn · near
57,500 median HH income
36.4% of the leader · rank #6
Goldsmith · highest
158,125
Goldsmith · highest
158,125 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 Union 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: 239.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Union places in the 31st percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
31st
percentile, household income
13th
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: Union, NE
Union is a small town in Nebraska, home to 239 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Union report a median income of $57,500 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 20.0%. Union's housing stock carries a median value of $109,400, and the median resident age is 42.1 years. 5.7% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 57.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
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. Commute times here average 26.8 minutes, with 82.9% driving alone and 1.7% working from home, per Census ACS commuting 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 Union'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 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 Union, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, 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.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Union?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 20.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +5 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.6% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Union?
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 Clearwater (240 residents, $61,667 income); Uehling (240 residents, $67,500 income); Murdock (235 residents, $76,250 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Fort Apache, AZ (239 residents); Moro, AR (239 residents); Bear Valley CDP (Mariposa County), CA (239 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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 82.9%. The reported mean trip to work is 26.8 minutes.
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 20.0% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.1 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Nebraska average
F
City profile score · Union, NE
34/100
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
$57,500
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
20.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
5.7%
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).
Union profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.1 index
Household income: 31/100 (F) · $57,500
Poverty rate: 13/100 (F) · 20.0%
Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 5.7%
How does Union compare to other US cities?
Where Union sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income31% higher than other cities
Home value13% 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 Union 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 Union near the bottom of Nebraska's cities
Among the 450 Nebraska cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Union ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Union only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#289 of 439
34th percentile in Nebraska
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 450
0th percentile in Nebraska
Median Home Value
#238 of 438
46th percentile in Nebraska
Poverty Rate
#25 of 450
94th percentile in Nebraska
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#430 of 450
4th 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
31st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Union's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$109,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 87% 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
Union's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,319 of 15,516
More affordable than 92% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,273 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.9×, Union sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,319 of 15,516 and #1,273 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
$57,500Union, NE median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Union, 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 Union, NE.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)5.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)20.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)57.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
239
Median Income
$57,500
Median Home Value
$109,400
Median Age
42.1
Poverty Rate
20.0%
Labor force participation
57.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
5.7%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Union's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
195 residents
2021
199 residents
2022
197 residents
2023
200 residents
2024
198 residents
2025
200 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
26.8 minutes
Drive Alone
82.9%
Carpool
15.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
1.7%
Based on 117 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 Union. 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 Union 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 Union sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Union 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 ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.