Howard County, Nebraska
Population 6,534 · St. Paul, Dannebrog, Elba
- Overall cost of living: −13.3% vs the US average, lower than 70% of US counties.
- Lyme disease cases: 0/100k, the lowest in the US.
- Unemployment rate: 2.5%, lower than 95% of US counties.
Cost & Housing
| Overall cost of living (vs US avg) | ≈−13.3% | lower than 70% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| ≈ Shared figure for the whole Grand Island, NE metro area. Prices are published for areas, not single counties. | ||
| Median home price | $209,100 | higher than 58% of US counties |
| Median rent | $777 | lower than 73% of US counties |
| Electric bill | $199/mo | higher than 80% of US counties |
| Child care (preschool) | $8,450/yr | higher than 61% of US counties |
| Property tax rate | 1.16% | higher than 74% of US counties |
| Sales tax | 5.5% | lower than 57% of US counties |
| State income tax | 5.84% | higher than 85% of US counties |
| Property tax paid / yr | $2,429 | higher than 74% of US counties |
Jobs & Career
| Median household income | $76,767 | higher than 77% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 2.5% | lower than 95% of US counties |
| Job growth (5 yr) | +8.8% | higher than 86% of US counties |
| Jobs per 1k residents | 166.2 | lower than 83% of US counties |
Climate & Environment
| Sunny days / yr | ≈228 days | higher than 75% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| ≈ Regional estimate: satellite grid cell about 100 km across. Nearby counties can share it. | ||
| July high | 87°F | lower than 50% of US counties |
| January low | 14°F | lower than 78% of US counties |
| Annual snowfall | 22 in | higher than 62% of US counties |
| Hot days (90°F+) | 40 days | higher than 57% of US counties |
| Freezing days (32°F or colder) | 145 days | higher than 73% of US counties |
| Severe drought | 22.1% of weeks | higher than 84% of US counties |
| Summer dew point | ≈60.1°F | lower than 68% of US counties |
| ≈ Regional estimate: NASA grid cell about 50 km across, read at where the county’s people live. Nearby counties can share it. | ||
| Annual precipitation | 27.2 in | lower than 77% of US counties |
| Disaster damage per $100k | $215/yr | higher than 84% of US counties |
| Flood damage per $100k | $113/yr | higher than 77% of US counties |
| Hurricane damage per $100k | $0/yr | the lowest in the US |
| Earthquake damage per $100k | $0.5/yr | lower than 81% of US counties |
| Tornado damage per $100k | $28/yr | higher than 96% of US counties |
| Wildfire damage per $100k | $3.8/yr | higher than 75% of US counties |
| PM2.5 air pollution | 6.2 µg/m³ | lower than 82% of US counties |
| Distance to coast | 499.5 mi | higher than 88% of US counties |
| Terrain relief | ≈366.9 ft | lower than 58% of US counties |
| ≈ Estimated from about 75 elevation points sampled across the county, so the true range is usually somewhat larger. | ||
Education & Health
| % Adults with a high school diploma | 95.9% | higher than 96% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| % Adults with a bachelor's degree | 26% | higher than 65% of US counties |
| % Adults with a graduate degree | 5.2% | lower than 80% of US counties |
| Colleges within 30 mi | 1 | lower than 63% of US counties |
| Student-teacher ratio | 11.4:1 | lower than 83% of US counties |
| On-time high school graduation | N/A | |
| 8th-grade math (grade level) | gr 8.93 | higher than 85% of US counties |
| 8th-grade reading (grade level) | gr 8.05 | higher than 62% of US counties |
| 3rd-grade math (grade level) | gr 3.02 | higher than 51% of US counties |
| Library visits per resident | 22.2 | higher than 99% of US counties |
| Primary care docs / 100k | 77/100k | higher than 80% of US counties |
| Hospitals within 25 mi | 3 | lower than 45% of US counties |
| Hospital quality (avg stars) | 3★ | lower than 48% of US counties |
| Life expectancy | 80.2 yrs | higher than 92% of US counties |
| % Uninsured (under 65) | 5.5% | lower than 89% of US counties |
| Mental health providers / 100k | 122/100k | lower than 56% of US counties |
| Dentists / 100k | 15/100k | lower than 86% of US counties |
| Lyme disease cases | 0/100k | the lowest in the US |
| % Near parks or rec facilities | 53.7% | lower than 67% of US counties |
Transit & Connectivity
| Airport drive time | 39 min | lower than 77% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| Int'l airport drive time | 180 min | higher than 81% of US counties |
| Avg commute | 27 min | higher than 67% of US counties |
| Broadband coverage | 85.3% | lower than 62% of US counties |
| Transit commute share | 0% | the lowest in the US |
| Work-from-home share | 8.6% | lower than 50% of US counties |
| Drive to a big city | 133 min | higher than 53% of US counties |
| Street intersections | 7 per sq mi | lower than 77% of US counties |
Community & Safety
| Violent crime | ≈0.7 per 1k | lower than 87% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| ≈ From 2025 FBI reports by this county’s police and sheriff’s departments: County Health Rankings publishes no 2022 figure for it. | ||
| Property crime | 0 per 1k | the lowest in the US |
| Population | 6,534 | lower than 86% of US counties |
| Median age | 42.2 | higher than 56% of US counties |
| Net domestic migration | +2.1 per 1k/yr | lower than 51% of US counties |
| % Democratic vote | 18.1% Dem | lower than 80% of US counties |
| % Republican vote | 80.8% Rep | higher than 80% of US counties |
| % Third-party vote | 1.1% | lower than 57% of US counties |
| % White | 91.1% | higher than 79% of US counties |
| % Hispanic or Latino | 3.2% | lower than 68% of US counties |
| % Black | 0.6% | lower than 74% of US counties |
| % Asian | 0.1% | lower than 84% of US counties |
| % American Indian & Alaska Native | 0% | the lowest in the US |
| % Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander | 0% | the lowest in the US |
| % Two or more races | 4.9% | higher than 79% of US counties |
| % Some other race | 0% | the lowest in the US |
Recreation & Lifestyle
| Parks & protected areas | 12 parks | lower than 77% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants / 10k | 10.7 | lower than 78% of US counties |
| Arts & rec venues / 10k | 4.6 | higher than 73% of US counties |
| Drive to dark skies | Dark here | the lowest in the US |
| Lakes & rivers | 1.1% | lower than 49% of US counties |
| Ski areas within 90 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Golf courses within 30 mi | 5 | lower than 70% of US counties |
| Marinas & boat tours within 90 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Trails (km) within 30 mi | 35 km | lower than 78% of US counties |
| Named paved greenways (km) within 15 mi | 0 km | the lowest in the US |
| Gyms & fitness centers within 30 mi | 7 | lower than 57% of US counties |
| Bars within 30 mi | 19 | higher than 54% of US counties |
| Music & theater companies within 30 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Museums within 30 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Breweries within 30 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Wineries within 30 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Theme parks & arcades within 90 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Casinos & casino hotels within 90 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Campgrounds & RV parks within 30 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Sports teams & arenas within 90 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Bike paths (km) within 15 mi | 0 km | the lowest in the US |
Most similar counties
Closest across all well-covered metrics.
Every number is from a public dataset; N/A means the source doesn't cover this county. Percentages compare against all US counties. ≈ marks a value not measured in the county itself; the line under it says where it comes from. Report bad data