City · Brown County, Nebraska

Ainsworth, Nebraska

Ainsworth is a city in Brown County, Nebraska. It has 1,697 residents. Ainsworth, Nebraska has a quality-of-life score of 72 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,319 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Nebraska it ranks #88 of 119 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), traffic deaths (low) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), pharmacies (low) and distance to an airport (high).

72High

Quality-of-life score: #4,319 of 15,651 cities and towns
Nebraska: #88 of 119 in NE
Population: 1,697 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,690.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 3100415

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety100#1/15,637
Economy27#11,418/15,631
Housing63#5,577/14,977
Health42#9,105/15,609
Healthcare32#10,681/15,650
Environment93#1,048/15,453
Education67#5,200/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,301/15,650
Community97#446/15,651
Leisure & amenities86#2,121/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ainsworth, Nebraska ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Brown County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Property crime rate · low104 /100k
100/100Nebraska 1,379 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationBrown County value
Traffic deaths · low0.0 /100k
100/100Nebraska 11.9 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataBrown County value
Grocery stores · high7.1 /10k
100/100Nebraska 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBrown County value
Students per teacher · low8.9×
100/100Nebraska 13.8×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsBrown County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Nebraska 10.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionBrown County value
Restaurants and bars · high21.2 /10k
99/100Nebraska 9.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBrown County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low17.0%
0/100Nebraska 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBrown County value
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Nebraska 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBrown County value
Distance to an airport · high173 mi
1/100Nebraska 65 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBrown County value
Job growth · low-4.0%
4/100Nebraska -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataBrown County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Nebraska 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBrown County value
Comfortable days · low22.4%
5/100Nebraska 24.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBrown County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
34.4% (2015-2019) → 59.5% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
25.5% (2015-2019) → 41.9% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Average commute timeWorsening
7.4 min (2015-2019) → 12.8 min (2020-2024)
+73%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Child poverty rateImproving
24.7% (2015-2019) → 11.6% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$41,205 (2015-2019) → $53,490 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
21.5% (2015-2019) → 24.4% (2020-2024)
+2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Ainsworth, Nebraska improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Property tax−0.6 points1.62% → 1.07%
Household income+30%$41,205 → $53,490

Declined1

Rent burden+25 points34.4% → 59.5%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Ainsworth, Nebraska between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	7.4 min2015-2019	12.8 min2020-2024	+5.4 min	Within the margin of error	9%
Bachelor's degree or higher	21.5%2015-2019	24.4%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Broadband subscriptions	81.5%2015-2019	81.3%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Effective property tax rate	1.62%2015-2019	1.07%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Improved	93%
High school diploma or higher	92.6%2015-2019	91.9%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	76%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4722015-2019	0.4962020-2024	+0.024	Within the margin of error	31%
Median household income	$41,2052015-2019	$53,4902020-2024	+30%	Improved	55%
Poverty rate	13.7%2015-2019	13.5%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	25.5%2015-2019	41.9%2020-2024	+16 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Rent-burdened households	34.4%2015-2019	59.5%2020-2024	+25 points	Declined	5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.4%2015-2019	13.3%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	35%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Ainsworth, Nebraska five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ainsworth, Nebraska in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Ainsworth, Nebraska itself moved −17.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,697 residents (±172)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

775 households (±79)

Ainsworth, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $25k22%†172
$25k–50k25%†192
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

775 households (±79)

Ainsworth, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Own71%549
Rent29%226

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

838 workers (±120)

Ainsworth, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Drive alone70%590
Carpool13%†113
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Brown County, the county holding most of Ainsworth's residents.

Brown County has 145 employer establishments, 506 for every 10,000 residents (2.04× the US rate of 248; 1.78× Nebraska's), with 844 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,893. The Census Bureau also counts 342 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 145; 342 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 506; US 248 · Nebraska 284
Paid employees: 844
Average annual pay: $44,893; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Brown County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	11	38.4	2.48×More than typical	33	$45,727	34
Truck transportation	10	34.9	6.91×More than typical	20	$36,350	19
Ambulatory health care services	9	31.4	1.51×Too few to compare	37	$39,676	12
Offices of other health practitioners	8	27.9	4.60×Too few to compare	30	$37,333	—
Building equipment contractors	7	24.4	4.06×Too few to compare	30	$45,400	7
Automotive repair and maintenance	6	21	4.16×Too few to compare	16	$44,500	12
Religious organizations	6	21	3.78×Too few to compare	13	$17,231	—
Construction of buildings	5	17.5	2.31×Too few to compare	14	$23,000	6
Gasoline stations	5	17.5	5.39×Too few to compare	31	$27,613	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	5	17.5	3.98×Too few to compare	17	$29,765	13
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	4	14	8.00×Too few to compare	40	$31,425	—
Banks and credit unions	4	14	4.32×Too few to compare	31	$64,000	—

Rank places for an industry Open Brown County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 2,863 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ainsworth is mostly in Brown County.

See federal money in Brown County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Ainsworth, Nebraska is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Adrian SmithR-NE-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 1.6%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Brown County86100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Brown County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3100415

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends