The Town Files

The 12 Best Small Towns to Retire in Nebraska

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 36 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Nebraska. #1 is David City, NE.

Map of the 12 towns123456789101112
Numbers match the ranking.
The 12 Best Small Towns to Retire in Nebraska1. David City96th pct2. O'Neill93rd pct3. Ashland92nd pct4. Valley92nd pct5. Broken Bow87th pct6. Holdrege78th pct7. Auburn72nd pct8. West Point70th pct9. Wahoo66th pct10. Wayne65th pct11. Central City64th pct12. Valentine63rd pct
  1. 12Valentine, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 63% of Nebraska towns

    2,633 people · Cherry County · median home $148,600 · income $56,898 · Jan low 13°F · 29 in snow

  2. 11Central City, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 64% of Nebraska towns

    3,039 people · Merrick County · median home $165,300 · income $73,229 · Jan low 14°F · 29 in snow

  3. 10Wayne, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 65% of Nebraska towns

    5,973 people · Wayne County · median home $228,900 · income $53,702 · Jan low 11°F · 32 in snow

  4. 9Wahoo, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 66% of Nebraska towns

    4,818 people · Saunders County · median home $243,600 · income $89,457 · Jan low 13°F · 34 in snow

  5. 8West Point, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 70% of Nebraska towns

    3,500 people · Cuming County · median home $202,200 · income $65,793 · Jan low 11°F · 29 in snow

  6. 7Auburn, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 72% of Nebraska towns

    3,470 people · Nemaha County · median home $98,800 · income $57,531 · Jan low 14°F · 30 in snow

  7. 6Holdrege, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 78% of Nebraska towns

    5,515 people · Phelps County · median home $198,900 · income $55,789 · Jan low 13°F · 25 in snow

  8. 5Broken Bow, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 87% of Nebraska towns

    3,506 people · Custer County · median home $133,200 · income $60,129 · Jan low 12°F · 30 in snow

  9. 4Valley, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 92% of Nebraska towns

    3,037 people · Douglas County · median home $528,100 · income $110,200 · Jan low 15°F · 32 in snow

  10. 3Ashland, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 92% of Nebraska towns

    3,086 people · Saunders County · median home $249,700 · income $89,408 · Jan low 13°F · 22 in snow

  11. 2O'Neill, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 93% of Nebraska towns

    3,581 people · Holt County · median home $153,300 · income $56,510 · Jan low 11°F · 26 in snow

  12. 1David City, Nebraska

    Better for retirees than 96% of Nebraska towns

    2,995 people · Butler County · median home $165,200 · income $65,573 · Jan low 12°F · 32 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Nebraska towns0255075100$90K$153K$216K$279K$342KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 12 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in Nebraska.

More Nebraska rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 36 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Nebraska (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: