Nebraska by the numbers
In Nebraska, the median worker earns $47,990 a year, the typical home is worth $223,800 and carries $3,350 of property tax, and the average household pays $121 a month for electricity at 13.59¢ per kilowatt-hour.
Midwest SPP Regulated monopoly
Energy
Nebraska is a genuine structural outlier. Every electric utility in the state is a public power district, a municipal system or a co-operative. There are no shareholders, and therefore no allowed return on equity built into rates. That single fact accounts for a meaningful share of the state's price advantage. A regulated investor-owned utility typically earns somewhere near a ten per cent return on its rate base, and Nebraska simply does not pay it.
Public power also borrows differently. Nebraska's utilities finance capital with tax-exempt revenue bonds at lower interest rates than corporate debt, which lowers the carrying cost of every asset they build.
The generation mix helps as well, with a spread of coal, the Cooper nuclear station, substantial wind, and hydro allocations. But structure is the distinguishing factor.
Averaged across the twelve months to May 2026, Nebraska households used 952 kilowatt-hours a month and paid $121. At the state median wage that is about 5.3 hours of work a month to keep the lights on. For heating, gas is still cheaper to run than a heat pump here, by about $1.89 per million BTU.
Work and pay
The median Nebraska worker earned $47,990 in 2024, 3.1% below the national median. What distinguishes a state's labour market is rarely its biggest occupations, which are retail and food service everywhere, but what it has disproportionately.
| Occupation | Concentration | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Slaughterers and Meat Packers | 11.55× | $48,080 |
| Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers | 8.24× | $47,900 |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | 7× | $67,150 |
| Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians | 6.33× | $51,060 |
| Conveyor Operators and Tenders | 5.99× | $39,650 |
Property tax
The median Nebraska homeowner pays $3,350 a year on a home worth $223,800, an effective rate of 1.50% against a national 0.98%. Nobody sets that rate. It is what falls out of county, city, school district and special district levies applied to an assessed value, so the state figure is a weighted average of 55 counties rather than a posted number.
Cost of living
Prices in Nebraska run at 90.1 where the national average is 100, ranking it #42 of 51. Goods sit at 94.1, which is close to national almost everywhere because most goods are shipped and priced nationally. Rents sit at 75.2, and that is where states actually separate from one another. A median wage of $47,990 therefore buys what $53,263 buys nationally.
Metro areas priced separately: Omaha (91.9) , Lincoln (91.6) , Grand Island (86.7) , Sioux City (86.5) .
Housing
House prices in Nebraska rose 2% over the year to 2026 Q2, against a median across all states of +2.7%. Over ten years the index is +93.4%. Prices are at or near their record level.
Metro areas tracked here: Omaha (+2.6%) .
Who supplies the power
24 utilities report residential service in Nebraska, together serving 756,539 customers. Regulated monopoly.
Nebraska: common questions
What does it cost to live in Nebraska?
Prices overall run at 90.1 against a national average of 100, with rents at 75.2. The typical home is worth $223,800 and carries $3,350 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.50% against a national 0.98%. Electricity averages $121 a month at 13.59¢ per kilowatt-hour. Against that, the median wage is $47,990.
What is the property tax rate in Nebraska?
The effective rate is 1.50% of home value, from a median bill of $3,350. It is set locally rather than by the state, so the figure is a weighted outcome across 55 counties. County by county rates.
Does a salary go further in Nebraska?
The median wage of $47,990 buys what $53,263 buys nationally, once local prices are taken out. A state paying above the national median while charging above it for housing can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows which side of that line Nebraska falls on.
Is Nebraska expensive for electricity?
It ranks #48 of 51 jurisdictions on price at 13.59¢ per kilowatt-hour, -26.3% against the U.S. average. On the actual bill it ranks 42 of 51, because households there use 952 kWh a month against a national 871.
What is the median salary in Nebraska?
$47,990 across all occupations, about $23.07 an hour, covering 1,016,070 wage and salary workers as of 2024.
Who supplies electricity in Nebraska?
24 utilities report residential service, the largest being Omaha Public Power District with 362,918 customers. Regulated monopoly.
Electricity May 2026, gas 2024, utilities 2024, wages 2024. All figures from federal statistical agencies. Methodology · Sources