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Fairbury, Nebraska

Fairbury is a small town of about 3,800 people in Jefferson County, Nebraska. It's the county seat. It has lost about 4% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Omaha, is about 97 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
3,812
down 4.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$101,700
Jefferson County prices up 35% since 2022
Household income
$52,995
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Nebraska
86.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Jefferson Community Health & Life
To Omaha
97 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 13.7% below the U.S. average in the parts of Nebraska outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Fairbury itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byJefferson Community Health & Life is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityOmaha is about 97 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Fairbury meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$101,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 35%Jefferson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$676 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$52,995U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
67%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,784 a yearNebraska: $3,549
Homes built before 1940
49%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
86.3U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Nebraska outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 35% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Nebraska outside metro areas, not Fairbury alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
3,8122020: 3,973
Median age
41.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
25%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (28%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (13%); manufacturing (12%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
14 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Jefferson Community Health & Life, Fairbury, NE, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Bryan Medical Center, Lincoln, NE, about 53 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Fairbury, run by Fairbury Public Schools.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Nebraska's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
72%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
81%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
14°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
42 a year
Nights at or below freezing
144 a year
Rain and melted snow
32.4 inches a year
Snow
21 inches a year
Elevation
1,411 feet

Weather station: Fairbury 5S (5 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Lincoln, Omaha.

Jefferson County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Fairbury Commercial Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Homestead National Historical Park20 miles

Read about Fairbury's history on Wikipedia.

Know Fairbury?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Jansen, NE101 people, 6 miles
  • Endicott, NE110 people, 6 miles
  • Diller, NE267 people, 13 miles
  • Alexandria, NE140 people, 13 miles
  • Daykin, NE153 people, 14 miles
  • Plymouth, NE359 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.