Living in Grand Island, Nebraska: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 13.3% below the U.S. average in the Grand Island metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood206 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 17.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town23 public schools: 16 elementary, 3 middle, 2 high schools and 2 other.
A hospital close byCHI Health St. Francis is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityOmaha is about 122 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 Grand Island 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: $218,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Hall County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $947 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $63,795U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 58%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,138 a yearNebraska: $3,549
Homes built before 1940: 15%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 86.7U.S. average = 100 (the Grand Island metro area)

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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Grand Island metro area, not Grand Island 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: 53,9432020: 53,016
Median age: 34.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 21%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%U.S.: 6%

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: Manufacturing (21%); schools, health care and social services (18%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 17 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: CHI Health St. Francis, Grand Island, NE, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

23 public schools in Grand Island, run by Grand Island Public Schools and Northwest Public Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: Central Community College (5,000 to 9,999 students).

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: 71%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 90%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: 16°F
July average high: 88°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 36 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 145 a year
Rain and melted snow: 26.6 inches a year
Snow: 28 inches a year
Elevation: 1,870 feet

Weather station: Grand Island Ap (4 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

Lincoln, NECity of 302,00088

Omaha, NEMetro of 1 million122

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.

Hall County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

24 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the 4th Street Commercial Historic District, the Grand Island Historic District, Grand Island VA Hospital and Soldiers and Sailors Home.

Read about Grand Island's history on Wikipedia.

Know Grand Island?

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

Wood River, NE1,200 people, 15 miles
Aurora, NE4,800 people, 19 miles
St. Paul, NE2,400 people, 21 miles
Shelton, NE1,000 people, 22 miles
Hastings, NE25,000 people, 23 miles
Central City, NE3,200 people, 23 miles

Smaller places

Alda, NE654 people, 7 miles
Phillips, NE333 people, 8 miles
Doniphan, NE819 people, 10 miles
St. Libory, NE (unincorporated)307 people, 11 miles
Chapman, NE265 people, 13 miles
Cairo, NE824 people, 14 miles
Giltner, NE421 people, 15 miles

Sources

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.