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Towns / Nebraska

La Vista, Nebraska

La Vista is a suburb of about 16,500 people in Sarpy County, Nebraska, in the Omaha area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.2 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 6 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Omaha

Population
16,543
down 1.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$260,900
Sarpy County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$81,961
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Omaha area
91.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Papillion, NE
To Omaha
6 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.1% below the U.S. average in the Omaha metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood11 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town18 public schools: 12 elementary, 1 middle, 2 high schools and 3 other.
  • A hospital close byCHI Health Midlands in Papillion, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityOmaha is about 6 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 La Vista 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.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

La Vista runs into the built-up area around Omaha (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$260,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Sarpy County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,317 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$81,961U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
52%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,419 a yearNebraska: $3,549
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.9U.S. average = 100 (the Omaha 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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Omaha metro area, not La Vista 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
16,5432020: 16,777
Median age
33.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
36%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%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 (20%); professional and business services (13%); construction (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: CHI Health Midlands, Papillion, NE, about 3 miles away. 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

18 public schools in La Vista, run by Papillion la Vista Community Schools and Ralston 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
76%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%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
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
26 a year
Nights at or below freezing
136 a year
Rain and melted snow
33.2 inches a year
Snow
36 inches a year
Elevation
1,091 feet

Weather station: Gretna 4NE (7 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: CHI Health Midlands, Omaha.

Sarpy County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about La Vista's history on Wikipedia.

Know La Vista?

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

  • Boys Town, NE616 people, 6 miles
  • Cedar Creek, NE476 people, 10 miles
  • Buccaneer Bay, NE (unincorporated)1,418 people, 11 miles
  • Waterloo, NE917 people, 14 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.