City · Dawes County, Nebraska

Chadron, Nebraska

Chadron is a city in Dawes County, Nebraska. It has 5,160 residents. Chadron, Nebraska has a quality-of-life score of 63 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,848 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Nebraska it ranks #100 of 119 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), loneliness (low) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), job growth (low) and average weekly wage (low).

63High

Quality-of-life score: #5,848 of 15,651 cities and towns
Nebraska: #100 of 119 in NE
Population: 5,160 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 1,322.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 3108605

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety54#7,126/15,637
Economy31#10,837/15,631
Housing61#5,874/14,977
Health55#6,983/15,609
Healthcare47#8,336/15,650
Environment73#4,204/15,453
Education87#1,973/15,649
Infrastructure38#9,654/15,650
Community85#2,293/15,651
Leisure & amenities37#9,803/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Chadron, Nebraska ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Dawes 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

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.1 µg/m³
99/100Nebraska 5.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDawes County value
Loneliness · low29.5%
99/100Nebraska 29.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Nebraska 6.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataDawes County value
Average commute time · low13.7 min
98/100Nebraska 19.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Restaurants and bars · high17.8 /10k
98/100Nebraska 9.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDawes County value
Public libraries · high2.5 /10k
94/100Nebraska 1.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesDawes County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high219 mi
1/100Nebraska 65 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDawes County value
Job growth · low-5.2%
2/100Nebraska -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataDawes County value
Average weekly wage · low$831
2/100Nebraska $1,213United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDawes County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high180 mi
3/100Nebraska 29 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDawes County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Nebraska 7.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDawes County value
Comfortable days · low22.2%
4/100Nebraska 24.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDawes County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
5,591 (2015-2019) → 5,160 (2020-2024)
−7.7%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
26.9% (2015-2019) → 53.3% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.7 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
14.5% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Average commute timeWorsening
10.2 min (2015-2019) → 13.7 min (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
25.9% (2015-2019) → 31.8% (2020-2024)
+5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Chadron, Nebraska improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 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.

Improved1

Child poverty−14 points14.5% → 0.0%

Declined1

Rent burden+26 points26.9% → 53.3%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Chadron, Nebraska between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	10.2 min2015-2019	13.7 min2020-2024	+3.6 min	Within the margin of error	16%
Bachelor's degree or higher	42.9%2015-2019	43.6%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Broadband subscriptions	88.6%2015-2019	85.9%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Child poverty rate	14.5%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	−14 points	Improved	88%
Effective property tax rate	1.66%2015-2019	1.58%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
High school diploma or higher	97.6%2015-2019	93.6%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	73%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3772015-2019	0.4432020-2024	+0.066	Within the margin of error	11%
Median household income	$47,2882015-2019	$54,5902020-2024	+15%	Within the margin of error	24%
Poverty rate	17.5%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	−4.3 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	26.9%2015-2019	53.3%2020-2024	+26 points	Declined	4%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.0%2015-2019	11.3%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	23%

“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 Chadron, Nebraska five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chadron, 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, Chadron, Nebraska itself moved −22 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

5,160 residents (±16)

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

2,097 households (±168)

Chadron, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $25k19%†392
$25k–50k22%†467
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,097 households (±168)

Chadron, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Own56%1,178
Rent44%919

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

2,867 workers (±221)

Chadron, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Drive alone76%2,166
Carpool11%†313
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 Dawes County, the county holding most of Chadron's residents.

Dawes County has 249 employer establishments, 306 for every 10,000 residents (1.23× the US rate of 248; 1.08× Nebraska's), with 2,015 paid employees at an average annual pay of $36,198. The Census Bureau also counts 702 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 249; 702 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 306; US 248 · Nebraska 284
Paid employees: 2,015
Average annual pay: $36,198; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	22	27	1.47×More than typical	303	$15,116	3
Ambulatory health care services	19	23.3	1.12×About typical	89	$61,596	41
Specialty trade contractors	14	17.2	1.11×About typical	48	$39,625	61
Building equipment contractors	10	12.3	2.04×More than typical	43	$37,116	12
Full-service restaurants	10	12.3	1.60×More than typical	142	$15,077	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	10	12.3	2.79×More than typical	28	$45,250	10
Construction of buildings	9	11	1.46×Too few to compare	32	$50,031	29
Religious organizations	9	11	1.99×Too few to compare	30	$15,633	—
Banks and credit unions	8	9.8	3.04×Too few to compare	63	$62,317	—
Offices of dentists	8	9.8	2.44×Too few to compare	30	$58,333	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	7	8.6	1.71×Too few to compare	8	$33,000	18
Gasoline stations	7	8.6	2.65×Too few to compare	57	$28,351	—

Rank places for an industry Open Dawes County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 8,148 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: Chadron is mostly in Dawes County.

See federal money in Dawes 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.

Chadron, 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.

Dawes County78100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Dawes 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/3108605

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends