What it's like to live in Kearney
Kearney is a small city in Nebraska with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, unemployment below the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Kearney deals with cold, harsh winters, fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city, and a car-dependent commute, with few people using transit.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment
- Low crime rates
- Short commutes
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Cold, harsh winters
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Kearney compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Kearney
Based on Kearney's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,898
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $37,960 a year
- 41% of Kearney renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$48,920
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $24,460
- Homes cost 3.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 33% below US
$949/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $949 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $244,600. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $244,600 · 41% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▼ 42% below US
2.5% unemployment
Unemployment here is 2.5%, well below the national average of 4.3%.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▼ 31% below US
229 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1221/100k · Kearney Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 47% below US
14 min average commute
Commutes run short here, averaging 13.9 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 9 in 10 workers drive to work.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 84°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 16°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
2 hospitals
There are 2 Medicare-certified hospitals inside city limits. They average 4.0 out of 5 on Medicare's star rating.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforceNear US average
37% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 37% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
14 public schools inside the boundary
There are 14 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Nicodemus National Historic Site (95 miles away).
Bottom line
Kearney's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are cold, harsh winters and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city. A year of median rent ($949/mo) equals 16% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, job seekers, and anyone prioritizing low crime. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive and anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.
Other places near Kearney
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