City · Antelope County, Nebraska

Neligh, Nebraska

Neligh is a city in Antelope County, Nebraska. It has 1,515 residents. Neligh, Nebraska has a quality-of-life score of 80 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,158 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Nebraska it ranks #66 of 119 cities and towns. It ranks best on public libraries (high), grocery stores (high) and suicide rate (low). It ranks worst on access to exercise opportunities (low), flu vaccinations (low) and public EV charging ports (low).

80High

Quality-of-life score: #3,158 of 15,651 cities and towns
Nebraska: #66 of 119 in NE
Population: 1,515 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,036.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 3133775

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety83#2,654/15,637
Economy58#6,567/15,631
Housing85#2,318/14,977
Health82#2,842/15,609
Healthcare18#12,852/15,650
Environment95#755/15,453
Education60#6,303/15,649
Infrastructure22#12,149/15,650
Community90#1,572/15,651
Leisure & amenities87#2,088/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Public libraries · high9.4 /10k
100/100Nebraska 1.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesAntelope County value
Grocery stores · high6.3 /10k
100/100Nebraska 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAntelope County value
Suicide rate · low0.0 /100k
100/100Nebraska 15.8 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataAntelope County value
Mammography screening · high62.0%
99/100Nebraska 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAntelope County value
Social associations · high23.8 /10k
99/100Nebraska 13.4 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAntelope County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Nebraska 10.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataAntelope County value

Weaknesses

Access to exercise opportunities · low33.8%
3/100Nebraska 84.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAntelope County value
Flu vaccinations · low26.0%
3/100Nebraska 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAntelope County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Nebraska 3.9 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyAntelope County value
Broadband subscriptions · low82.4%
4/100Nebraska 90.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Traffic deaths · high38.0 /100k
4/100Nebraska 11.9 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataAntelope County value
Distance to an airport · high118 mi
6/100Nebraska 65 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAntelope County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,622 (2015-2019) → 1,515 (2020-2024)
−6.6%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
58.0% (2015-2019) → 44.0% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
11.6% (2015-2019) → 0.3% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.7× (2015-2019) → 2.5× (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeImproving
32.6% (2015-2019) → 27.1% (2020-2024)
−5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.0% (2015-2019) → 82.4% (2020-2024)
+5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Neligh, Nebraska improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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.

Improved1

Household income+22%$48,676 → $59,239

Declined2

Uninsured+4.2 points5.1% → 9.3%
Price / income+0.8×1.7× → 2.5×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Neligh, Nebraska between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	12.0 min2015-2019	12.0 min2020-2024	−0.0 min	Within the margin of error	48%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.5%2015-2019	20.3%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Broadband subscriptions	77.0%2015-2019	82.4%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Effective property tax rate	1.51%2015-2019	1.34%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	52%
High school diploma or higher	93.1%2015-2019	90.1%2020-2024	−3 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	31%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4232015-2019	0.4352020-2024	+0.012	Within the margin of error	40%
Median household income	$48,6762015-2019	$59,2392020-2024	+22%	Improved	36%
Poverty rate	11.5%2015-2019	7.4%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	32.6%2015-2019	27.1%2020-2024	−5.5 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Rent-burdened households	58.0%2015-2019	44.0%2020-2024	−14 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.1%2015-2019	9.3%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Declined	13%

“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 Neligh, Nebraska five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Neligh, 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, Neligh, Nebraska itself moved +0.1 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

1,515 residents (±135)

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

678 households (±81)

Neligh, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $25k18%†123
$25k–50k21%†144
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

678 households (±81)

Neligh, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Own74%503
Rent26%175

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

735 workers (±98)

Neligh, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Drive alone88%647
Carpool5.0%†37
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 Antelope County, the county holding most of Neligh's residents.

Antelope County has 218 employer establishments, 346 for every 10,000 residents (1.39× the US rate of 248; 1.22× Nebraska's), with 1,523 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,156. The Census Bureau also counts 668 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 218; 668 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 346; US 248 · Nebraska 284
Paid employees: 1,523
Average annual pay: $50,156; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	17	27	1.74×More than typical	59	$59,610	67
Religious organizations	12	19	3.43×More than typical	28	$27,964	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	11	17.4	3.46×More than typical	20	$31,700	12
Construction of buildings	11	17.4	2.31×More than typical	21	$38,714	39
Insurance agencies and brokerages	11	17.4	3.97×More than typical	35	$39,114	11
Gasoline stations	9	14.3	4.40×Too few to compare	92	$21,109	—
Truck transportation	9	14.3	2.82×Too few to compare	22	$38,455	52
Ambulatory health care services	8	12.7	0.61×Too few to compare	49	$66,959	19
Building equipment contractors	7	11.1	1.84×Too few to compare	41	$66,171	17
Banks and credit unions	6	9.5	2.95×Too few to compare	44	$67,636	—
Child day care services	6	9.5	3.90×Too few to compare	15	$17,667	26
Restaurants and other eating places	6	9.5	0.52×Too few to compare	26	$16,154	5

Rank places for an industry Open Antelope County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 6,306 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

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Neligh, Nebraska: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

3.2KFY2017
3.2KFY2018
853.9FY2019
262.6FY2020

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Neligh, Nebraska, so they do not add up across cities.

Neligh, Nebraska's figures are part of those of Antelope County, NE ($12.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Antelope 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.

Neligh, 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.

Antelope County91100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Antelope 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/3133775

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends