City · Lancaster County, Nebraska

Waverly, Nebraska

Waverly is a city in Lancaster County, Nebraska, part of the Lincoln, NE metro area. It has 4,440 residents. Waverly, Nebraska has a quality-of-life score of 98 out of 100 (very high), ranking #296 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Nebraska it ranks #2 of 119 cities and towns. It ranks best on poverty rate (low), child poverty rate (low) and loneliness (low). It ranks worst on violent crime rate (high), property crime rate (high) and public libraries (low).

98Very high

Quality-of-life score: #296 of 15,651 cities and towns
Nebraska: #2 of 119 in NE
Population: 4,440 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,808.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 3151770

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety53#7,372/15,637
Economy95#848/15,631
Housing87#1,901/14,977
Health89#1,668/15,609
Healthcare98#273/15,650
Environment89#1,653/15,453
Education88#1,875/15,649
Infrastructure95#803/15,650
Community87#2,035/15,651
Leisure & amenities54#7,240/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Poverty rate · low0.5%
100/100Nebraska 10.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Child poverty rate · low0.0%
100/100Nebraska 11.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Loneliness · low29.5%
99/100Nebraska 29.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Flu vaccinations · high60.0%
99/100Nebraska 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLancaster County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.298
99/100Nebraska 0.456United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Nebraska 3.0%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025

Weaknesses

Violent crime rate · high386 /100k
19/100Nebraska 218 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLancaster County value
Property crime rate · high1,775 /100k
19/100Nebraska 1,379 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLancaster County value
Public libraries · low0.3 /10k
20/100Nebraska 1.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLancaster County value
Comfortable days · low23.8%
20/100Nebraska 24.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLancaster County value
Child care cost burden · high34.5%
25/100Nebraska 30.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLancaster County value
Public transit commuters · low0.0%
27/100Nebraska 0.5%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,873 (2015-2019) → 4,440 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
19.7% (2015-2019) → 35.8% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
9.0% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
10.9 /1k (2021) → 6.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−40%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$82,031 (2015-2019) → $111,632 (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.1× (2015-2019) → 2.8× (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Waverly, Nebraska improved on 4 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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.

Improved4

Inequality−0.0540.352 → 0.298
Unemployment−2.2 points2.2% → 0.0%
Child poverty−9 points9.0% → 0.0%
Household income+36%$82,031 → $111,632

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Waverly, Nebraska between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.6 min2015-2019	24.0 min2020-2024	+0.4 min	Within the margin of error	42%
Bachelor's degree or higher	37.3%2015-2019	40.9%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Broadband subscriptions	91.7%2015-2019	97.7%2020-2024	+6 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Child poverty rate	9.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	−9 points	Improved	80%
Effective property tax rate	1.71%2015-2019	1.38%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	78%
High school diploma or higher	96.6%2015-2019	98.6%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	36%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3522015-2019	0.2982020-2024	−0.054	Improved	85%
Median household income	$82,0312015-2019	$111,6322020-2024	+36%	Improved	67%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	22.0%2015-2019	16.8%2020-2024	−5.2 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Unemployment rate	2.2%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Improved	84%

“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 Waverly, Nebraska five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Waverly, 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, Waverly, Nebraska itself moved +2.2 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

4,440 residents (±18)

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

1,507 households (±170)

Waverly, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $25k7.5%†113
$25k–50k5.6%†85
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,507 households (±170)

Waverly, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Own81%1,221
Rent19%†286

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,045 workers (±321)

Waverly, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Drive alone84%1,724
Carpool4.8%†99
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Lincoln, NE

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 Lancaster County, the county holding most of Waverly's residents.

Lancaster County has 8,999 employer establishments, 274 for every 10,000 residents (1.10× the US rate of 248; 0.97× Nebraska's), with 157,274 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,218. The Census Bureau also counts 25,948 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 8,999; 25,948 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 274; US 248 · Nebraska 284
Paid employees: 157,274
Average annual pay: $55,218; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	841	25.6	1.23×About typical	9,996	$75,639	1,227
Specialty trade contractors	785	23.9	1.55×More than typical	7,106	$60,943	1,611
Restaurants and other eating places	599	18.3	0.99×About typical	12,529	$19,693	97
Lessors of real estate	459	14	1.14×About typical	2,026	$45,590	2,981
Offices of other health practitioners	374	11.4	1.88×More than typical	1,962	$43,905	610
Construction of buildings	329	10	1.33×More than typical	2,300	$68,672	621
Limited-service restaurants	287	8.7	1.09×About typical	6,049	$18,490	38
Services to buildings and dwellings	287	8.7	1.30×More than typical	1,672	$34,835	1,265
Real estate agents and brokers	240	7.3	1.50×More than typical	329	$51,313	507
Building finishing contractors	238	7.3	1.91×More than typical	1,034	$48,842	686
Building equipment contractors	235	7.2	1.19×About typical	3,464	$65,617	197
Insurance agencies and brokerages	230	7	1.60×More than typical	1,140	$77,109	499

Rank places for an industry Open Lancaster County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 328,128 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 $6,500 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Waverly, Nebraska: $1.46 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $6,500; −77% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.46; US $1,994
Sole-source: 6.3%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Federal Acquisition Service$6,09194%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$4096.3%

Top recipients

LINCOLN AUTO AUCTIONS, LTD.$6,09194%
NO LIMIT POWER INC$4096.3%

Spending by fiscal year

26.9KFY2017
12.7KFY2018
13.1KFY2019
69.5KFY2020
64.3KFY2021
1.6KFY2022
41.6KFY2023
30.9KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Wholesale trade agents and brokers · 4251$6,09194%
Motor vehicle manufacturing · 3361$4096.3%

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

Waverly, Nebraska's figures are part of those of Lancaster County, NE ($331.8M 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: Waverly is mostly in Lancaster County.

See federal money in Lancaster 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.

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

House

Mike FloodR-NE-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 0.7%

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.

Lancaster County94100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Lincoln, NE95

Other cities and towns in Lancaster 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/3151770

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends