Scores by category

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

Safety99#85/15,637
Economy32#10,566/15,631
Housing92#1,263/14,977
Health73#4,267/15,609
Healthcare44#8,734/15,650
Environment98#261/15,453
Education81#2,933/15,649
Infrastructure22#12,129/15,650
Community87#1,959/15,651
Leisure & amenities72#4,399/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where O'Neill, Nebraska ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Holt 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

Grocery stores · high6.0 /10k
100/100Nebraska 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHolt County value
Suicide rate · low0.0 /100k
100/100Nebraska 15.8 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHolt County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Nebraska 10.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHolt County value
Average commute time · low11.8 min
99/100Nebraska 19.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Loneliness · low29.9%
99/100Nebraska 29.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Mammography screening · high59.0%
98/100Nebraska 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHolt County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low14.0%
0/100Nebraska 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHolt County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Nebraska 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHolt County value
Distance to an airport · high128 mi
4/100Nebraska 65 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHolt County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high131 mi
6/100Nebraska 29 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHolt County value
Public EV charging ports · low1.0 /10k
11/100Nebraska 3.9 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyHolt County value
Broadband subscriptions · low81.1%
12/100Nebraska 90.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002

Trends

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

Child poverty rateWorsening
2.1% (2015-2019) → 25.1% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedImproving
2.2 /1k (2021) → 3.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+76%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
43.3% (2015-2019) → 29.9% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateWorsening
5.9% (2015-2019) → 18.5% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.0× (2015-2019) → 2.7× (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.3% (2015-2019) → 81.1% (2020-2024)
+3.8 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, O'Neill, Nebraska improved on 0 of 12 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Poverty+13 points5.9% → 18.5%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of O'Neill, Nebraska between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	10.3 min2015-2019	11.8 min2020-2024	+1.5 min	Within the margin of error	32%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.7%2015-2019	22.7%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Broadband subscriptions	77.3%2015-2019	81.1%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Effective property tax rate	1.29%2015-2019	1.26%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	22%
High school diploma or higher	92.0%2015-2019	90.6%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	36%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4172015-2019	0.4562020-2024	+0.038	Within the margin of error	22%
Median household income	$58,1942015-2019	$56,5102020-2024	−2.9%	Within the margin of error	6%
Poverty rate	5.9%2015-2019	18.5%2020-2024	+13 points	Declined	2%
Rent as share of income	25.4%2015-2019	26.8%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Rent-burdened households	43.3%2015-2019	29.9%2020-2024	−13 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.4%2015-2019	12.7%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 O'Neill, Nebraska five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of O'Neill, 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, O'Neill, Nebraska itself moved −10.4 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

3,570 residents (±21)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 60–69 women (+4.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,570 residents (±21)

O'Neill, Nebraska
Nebraska share

White84%3,002
Black1.1%†40
Hispanic or Latino9.8%350
Asian0.3%†9
American Indian and Alaska Native0.0%0
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races4.7%†169

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: White (−5.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

2,481 residents (±146)

O'Neill, Nebraska
Nebraska share

No high school diploma9.4%†234
High school or GED34%842
Some college20%489
Associate degree14%†353
Bachelor's degree12%†296
Graduate degree11%267

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

1,545 households (±104)

O'Neill, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $25k22%†341
$25k–50k21%†320
$50k–75k17%†258
$75k–100k17%†270
$100k–150k10%†160
$150k–200k10%†157
$200k or more2.5%†39

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $150k–200k (+8.0 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,545 households (±104)

O'Neill, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Own67%1,040
Rent33%505

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

505 households (±125)

O'Neill, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $75077%†389
$750–1,00015%†77
$1,000–1,5005.0%†25

Home values

1,040 homes (±125)

O'Neill, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $150k49%508
$150k–250k30%314
$250k–400k13%†138

Age of homes

1,656 homes (±117)

O'Neill, Nebraska
Nebraska share

2010 or later4.6%†76
2000–20093.3%†54
1980–199911%†189

Size of homes

1,656 homes (±117)

O'Neill, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Studio1.4%†23
1 bedroom12%†196
2 bedrooms34%563

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,729 workers (±157)

O'Neill, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Drive alone81%1,405
Carpool9.3%†161
Public transit0.0%0
Walk4.8%†83
Bike0.0%0
Work from home2.4%†42
Other2.2%†38

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,687 workers (±167)

O'Neill, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under 15 min76%1,276
15–29 min14%†230
30–44 min7.8%†131

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Holt County, the county holding most of O'Neill's residents.

Holt County has 429 employer establishments, 424 for every 10,000 residents (1.71× the US rate of 248; 1.49× Nebraska's), with 3,139 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,326. The Census Bureau also counts 1,306 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 429; 1,306 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 424; US 248 · Nebraska 284
Paid employees: 3,139
Average annual pay: $45,326; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	37	36.6	7.23×More than typical	155	$55,058	110
Ambulatory health care services	23	22.7	1.09×About typical	197	$63,832	30
Specialty trade contractors	21	20.8	1.34×More than typical	77	$44,403	139
Restaurants and other eating places	20	19.8	1.08×About typical	196	$17,801	3
Religious organizations	15	14.8	2.67×More than typical	88	$30,420	—
Building equipment contractors	14	13.8	2.30×More than typical	42	$41,690	36
Automotive repair and maintenance	13	12.8	2.55×More than typical	41	$40,195	32
Insurance agencies and brokerages	13	12.8	2.93×More than typical	52	$42,731	27
Offices of other health practitioners	13	12.8	2.11×More than typical	50	$47,680	10
Gasoline stations	12	11.9	3.66×More than typical	113	$23,982	—
Full-service restaurants	11	10.9	1.42×More than typical	74	$14,122	—
Banks and credit unions	10	9.9	3.06×More than typical	90	$74,244	—

Rank places for an industry Open Holt County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 10,119 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: O'Neill is mostly in Holt County.

See federal money in Holt 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.

O'Neill, 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.

Holt County97100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Holt 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/3137105