Nebraskaincome tax up to 3.99%, 8th highest property tax, median home $265K

Worth knowing before you move to Nebraska

Nebraska stopped taxing Social Security in 2025 and is cutting its top income-tax rate toward 3.99%. Property taxes are among the highest in the country as a share of home value, which is the state's longest-running political fight. Omaha and Lincoln hold most of the population and jobs; the state has the country's only unicameral legislature and publicly owned electric utilities.

What Nebraska taxes, and what it doesn't

Nebraska levies a graduated income tax that tops out at 3.99%. A household earning $75,000 pays an effective 4.1%, about $3,112 a year; at $150,000 the effective rate is 4.3%. Among the 41 states that tax income, Nebraska has the 16th lowest effective rate at $100,000 of income.

Property tax runs 1.44% of home value a year, roughly $3,816 on the state's median home of $265K. The national effective rate is about 1.10%, and Nebraska has the 8th highest rate of the 50 states.

Combined state and local sales tax averages 6.94%, the 22nd lowest in the country (the state portion is 5.5%).

For retirees: Social Security benefits are not taxed, pension income is partly exempt, and there is an inheritance tax on some heirs.

Capital gains are taxed as ordinary income.

Housing and the cost of living in Nebraska

Nebraska's cost of living index is 91, where 100 is the national average; that is the 13th cheapest of the 50 states.

The median home costs $265K, 13% below the national figure and the 15th lowest among the states. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,150 a month.

Carrying costs matter as much as the price: home insurance averages $2,200 a year, flood coverage adds about $600 where it is needed, car insurance runs $1,450.

Budget $125 a month for electricity and gas, $460 a month in groceries for two, $1,000 a month for full-time infant care.

Safety, health and schools

Violent crime is 311 incidents per 100,000 residents in the FBI's 2023 Crime Data Explorer figures, below the median state (387); Nebraska is the 22nd safest of the 50 by that measure. Property crime is 1,956 per 100,000.

Life expectancy is 78.6 years (County Health Rankings 2024). 7.1% of residents have no health insurance, and the state has expanded Medicaid. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks Nebraska's health system 26th of 50.

Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks K-12 schools 18th in the country, and the state runs a school-choice voucher program.

Politics, guns and social policy

Politically, Nebraska is a solidly Republican state that went to Trump by 19 points in 2024.

On guns, no permit is required to carry a concealed handgun, and Giffords grades the state's gun laws F.

Abortion is legal with limits. Marijuana is medical only. Nebraska is a right-to-work state, and the minimum wage is $12.00 an hour.

Climate, risk and getting around

Natural disaster risk is high. The main hazards are tornado, blizzard, flood. Annual average air quality index is 33 (under 50 is good).

Nebraska has no top-25 hub airport, with about 55 nonstop destinations from its busiest airport.