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Place dossier plate
SheetNE-WILBER-NE · Wilber, NE 2,178 pop · income 62nd 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 Wilber
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Wilber on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Tavernier · lowest
50,267
Tavernier · lowest
50,267 median HH income
36.9% of the leader · rank #1
Wilber · this city
80,227
Wilber · this city
80,227 median HH income
58.8% of the leader · rank #2
Trenton · near
80,227
Trenton · near
80,227 median HH income
58.8% of the leader · rank #3
Georgetown · near
80,231
Georgetown · near
80,231 median HH income
58.8% of the leader · rank #4
Stillwater · near
80,234
Stillwater · near
80,234 median HH income
58.8% of the leader · rank #5
Greenwood Lake · near
80,240
Greenwood Lake · near
80,240 median HH income
58.8% of the leader · rank #6
Beaver Lake · highest
136,364
Beaver Lake · highest
136,364 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 Wilber 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: 2,178.
Wilber ranks in the 62nd percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
62nd
percentile, household income
28th
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: Wilber, NE
Wilber is a small town in Nebraska, home to 2,178 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Wilber brings in $80,227 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.6%. Home values in Wilber run a median of $154,700, and the median resident age is 37.7 years. 19.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 69.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 1 residential building permits were authorized in Wilber (Construction Slowdown), down 75% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data.
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. 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 Wilber'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 comparison shortlist to population change to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Wilber, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, local building permits, 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
What does the journey to work look like in Wilber?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 87.8%. 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Wilber?
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 6.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Wilber?
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 Imperial (2,182 residents, $71,667 income); Ord (2,186 residents, $53,274 income); Beaver Lake (2,198 residents, $136,364 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Pecatonica, IL (2,178 residents); Hamlin, TX (2,178 residents); St. Marys, WV (2,178 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +8 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Wilber?
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. 19.2% 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
6.6%
Bachelor's degree+
19.2%
Matched public schools
3
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 6.6% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.1 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Nebraska average
C+
City profile score · Wilber, NE
60/100
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+
$80,227
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate C
6.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
19.2%
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).
Wilber profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.1 index
Household income: 60/100 (C+) · $80,227
Poverty rate: 55/100 (C) · 6.6%
Bachelor's+ share: 32/100 (F) · 19.2%
How does Wilber compare to other US cities?
Here's how Wilber stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income62% higher than other cities
Home value28% 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 Wilber 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 Wilber near the bottom of Nebraska's cities
Among the 450 Nebraska cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Wilber ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Wilber only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#81 of 439
82nd percentile in Nebraska
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 450
0th percentile in Nebraska
Median Home Value
#134 of 438
69th percentile in Nebraska
Poverty Rate
#204 of 450
55th percentile in Nebraska
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#247 of 450
45th 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
62nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Wilber's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$154,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 72% 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
Wilber's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,399 of 15,516
More affordable than 91% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,347 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.9×, Wilber sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,399 of 15,516 and #1,347 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
$80,227Wilber, NE median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Wilber, 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 Wilber, NE.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)19.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)69.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,178
Median Income
$80,227
Median Home Value
$154,700
Median Age
37.7
Poverty Rate
6.6%
Labor force participation
69.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
19.2%
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
Wilber's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,970 residents
2021
1,945 residents
2022
1,953 residents
2023
1,965 residents
2024
1,988 residents
2025
1,978 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
4
4
0
$0.6M
2020
5
5
0
$1.2M
2021
2
2
0
$0.5M
2022
3
3
0
$0.9M
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
1
1
0
$0.3M
Permit volume decreased 75% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
87.8%
Carpool
7.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.1%
Work from Home
3.8%
Based on 1,119 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 Wilber. 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 Wilber 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 Wilber sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Wilber 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, 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.