Scores by category

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

Safety91#1,472/15,637
Economy47#8,208/15,631
Housing85#2,266/14,977
Health73#4,236/15,609
Healthcare53#7,385/15,650
Environment76#3,764/15,453
Education89#1,752/15,649
Infrastructure40#9,353/15,650
Community94#959/15,651
Leisure & amenities42#9,115/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Stromsburg, Nebraska ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Polk 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 · high7.6 /10k
100/100Nebraska 1.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesPolk County value
Social associations · high23.0 /10k
99/100Nebraska 13.4 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePolk County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Nebraska 10.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionPolk County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low86 min
99/100Nebraska 114 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesPolk County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Nebraska 6.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPolk County value
Students per teacher · low9.9×
98/100Nebraska 13.8×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsPolk County value

Weaknesses

Access to exercise opportunities · low29.3%
2/100Nebraska 84.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePolk County value
Mental health providers · low38 /100k
4/100Nebraska 362 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePolk County value
Restaurants and bars · low3.8 /10k
4/100Nebraska 9.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPolk County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,302 /100k
6/100Nebraska 2,494 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePolk County value
Traffic deaths · high30.6 /100k
7/100Nebraska 11.9 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataPolk County value
Natural hazard risk · high90.1
10/100Nebraska 52.42025Federal Emergency Management AgencyPolk County value

Trends

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

Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.4× (2015-2019) → 2.7× (2020-2024)
+91%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 14.0% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
5.8% (2015-2019) → 12.2% (2020-2024)
+6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Average commute timeWorsening
20.0 min (2015-2019) → 22.6 min (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
High school diploma or higherWorsening
92.6% (2015-2019) → 90.2% (2020-2024)
−2.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.367 (2015-2019) → 0.410 (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

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, Stromsburg, Nebraska improved on 0 of 12 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined2

Poverty+6.3 points5.8% → 12.2%
Price / income+1.3×1.4× → 2.7×

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Stromsburg, Nebraska between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.0 min2015-2019	22.6 min2020-2024	+2.6 min	Within the margin of error	22%
Bachelor's degree or higher	24.4%2015-2019	23.3%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Broadband subscriptions	80.5%2015-2019	79.2%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Effective property tax rate	1.23%2015-2019	0.98%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	68%
High school diploma or higher	92.6%2015-2019	90.2%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Home price to income ratio	1.4×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+1.3×	Declined	13%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3672015-2019	0.4102020-2024	+0.043	Within the margin of error	19%
Median household income	$61,6352015-2019	$58,9882020-2024	−4.3%	Within the margin of error	5%
Poverty rate	5.8%2015-2019	12.2%2020-2024	+6.3 points	Declined	9%
Rent as share of income	28.0%2015-2019	28.6%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Rent-burdened households	42.7%2015-2019	44.4%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.1%2015-2019	9.4%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	31%

“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 Stromsburg, Nebraska five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Stromsburg, 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, Stromsburg, Nebraska itself moved −16.8 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

1,074 residents (±145)

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: Under 10 women (+4.9 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

1,074 residents (±145)

Stromsburg, Nebraska
Nebraska share

White91%974
Black0.8%†9
Hispanic or Latino4.2%†45

Education

725 residents (±99)

Stromsburg, Nebraska
Nebraska share

No high school diploma9.8%†71
High school or GED29%211
Some college25%179

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

467 households (±66)

Stromsburg, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $25k17%†81
$25k–50k25%†116
$50k–75k27%†127
$75k–100k11%51
$100k–150k9.2%†43
$150k–200k7.3%†34
$200k or more3.2%†15

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $100k–150k (−8.9 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

467 households (±66)

Stromsburg, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Own73%343
Rent27%†124

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−7.8 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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

124 households (±40)

Stromsburg, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $75045%†56
$750–1,00010%†13
$1,000–1,50042%†52

Home values

343 homes (±58)

Stromsburg, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $150k43%†149
$150k–250k34%†117
$250k–400k19%†64

Age of homes

536 homes (±64)

Stromsburg, Nebraska
Nebraska share

2010 or later2.8%†15
2000–20090.6%†3
1980–199911%†61

Size of homes

536 homes (±64)

Stromsburg, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom15%†83
2 bedrooms25%†134

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

478 workers (±73)

Stromsburg, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Drive alone80%383
Carpool2.1%†10
Public transit0.0%0
Walk2.9%†14
Bike2.1%†10
Work from home13%†61
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+11.0 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 B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

417 workers (±61)

Stromsburg, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under 15 min43%180
15–29 min29%122
30–44 min13%†53

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 Polk County, the county holding most of Stromsburg's residents.

Polk County has 134 employer establishments, 257 for every 10,000 residents (1.04× the US rate of 248; 0.91× Nebraska's), with 806 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,066. The Census Bureau also counts 499 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 134; 499 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 257; US 248 · Nebraska 284
Paid employees: 806
Average annual pay: $44,066; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	13	25	1.61×More than typical	43	$49,140	56
Religious organizations	12	23	4.15×More than typical	30	$19,433	—
Truck transportation	9	17.3	3.42×Too few to compare	46	$49,348	17
Building equipment contractors	7	13.4	2.23×Too few to compare	30	$50,967	12
Automotive repair and maintenance	6	11.5	2.29×Too few to compare	16	$38,063	18
Insurance agencies and brokerages	6	11.5	2.62×Too few to compare	9	$71,444	11
Services to buildings and dwellings	6	11.5	1.71×Too few to compare	7	$30,857	39
Banks and credit unions	5	9.6	2.97×Too few to compare	28	$49,714	—
Landscaping services	5	9.6	2.74×Too few to compare	6	$31,667	15
Restaurants and other eating places	5	9.6	0.52×Too few to compare	22	$6,227	—
Ambulatory health care services	4	7.7	0.37×Too few to compare	40	$47,400	16
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	4	7.7	2.33×Too few to compare	17	$42,765	4

Rank places for an industry Open Polk County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 5,208 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 Stromsburg, 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

107.4FY2017
-129.1FY2020
-107.4FY2024

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 Stromsburg, Nebraska, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Polk 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.

Stromsburg, Nebraska is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).