Best Cities in Nebraska for Schools

Welcome to SchoolDigger, your premier source for city-wide school rankings! Our user-friendly platform focuses on test scores, presenting a transparent, data-driven comparison to help you navigate the educational scene. Explore top-rated cities in Nebraska and make informed decisions for your child's academic future. With our comprehensive database, uncover the best-performing schools within each city, evaluate their performance, and gain valuable insights. Trust SchoolDigger.com to guide you in finding the perfect city for your child's education. Embark on your journey to academic success right here!

JUST IN! Nebraska test scores and updated rankings for the 2023-24 school year were recently posted to SchoolDigger!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish Nebraska test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

Rank (of 207)	City	# Elementary Schools	# Middle Schools	# High Schools	# Alt. Schools	# Private Schools*	Rank score (2024)	Rank (2023)	Rank change from 2023
1^st	Leigh	1	0	1	0	0	0.97	12	11
2^nd	Johnson	1	0	1	0	0	0.964	9	7
3^rd	Elgin	1	0	1	0	2	0.958		(n/a)
4^th	Elkhorn	8	2	1	0	3	0.956	4
5^th	Ponca	1	0	1	0	0	0.933	20	15
6^th	Osmond	1	0	1	0	1	0.911	2	4
7^th	Bruning	1	0	1	0	0	0.905	1	6
8^th	Bennington	5	2	1	0	0	0.897	15	7
9^th	Stuart	1	0	1	0	0	0.875		(n/a)
10^th	Seward	1	1	1	0	2	0.875	24	14
11^th	Elmwood	1	0	0	0	0	0.867	6	5
12^th	Pender	1	0	1	0	0	0.859	8	4
13^th	Malcolm	1	0	1	0	0	0.847	10	3
14^th	Wahoo	1	1	1	0	2	0.846	32	18
15^th	Waverly	2	1	1	0	1	0.832	36	21
16^th	Fort Calhoun	1	0	1	0	0	0.828	25	9
17^th	Yutan	1	0	1	0	0	0.819	23	6
18^th	Syracuse	1	1	1	0	0	0.817	22	4
19^th	Gretna	4	1	1	0	0	0.789	26	7
20^th	Murdock	0	0	1	0	0	0.783	5	15
21^st	Arlington	1	0	1	0	1	0.78	51	30
22^nd	Dodge	1	0	0	0	1	0.778	17	5
23^rd	North Bend	1	1	1	0	0	0.778	38	15
24^th	Firth	2	1	1	0	0	0.775	21	3
25^th	Oakland	1	0	1	0	0	0.773	55	30
26^th	Geneva	1	0	1	0	1	0.76	34	8
27^th	Central City	1	1	1	0	1	0.757	116	89
28^th	Mitchell	1	0	1	0	0	0.752	44	16
29^th	Wood River	1	1	1	0	0	0.749	180	151
30^th	Valparaiso	1	0	0	0	0	0.748	18	12
31^st	Axtell	1	0	1	0	0	0.735	50	19
32^nd	Humboldt	1	1	1	0	0	0.731	118	86
33^rd	Atkinson	1	0	1	0	1	0.729	46	13
34^th	Blair	2	1	1	0	1	0.727	39	5
35^th	Doniphan	1	0	1	0	0	0.712	73	38
36^th	Blue Hill	1	0	1	0	0	0.712	49	13
37^th	Mead	1	0	1	0	0	0.71	148	111
38^th	Bennet	1	0	0	0	0	0.708	47	9
39^th	Bloomfield	1	0	1	0	0	0.705	60	21
40^th	Chadron	2	1	2	0	3	0.701	113	73
41^st	Burwell	2	0	1	0	0	0.699	177	136
42^nd	Howells	0	0	1	0	2	0.698	104	62
43^rd	Papillion	10	2	2	0	2	0.697	52	9
44^th	Eagle	1	0	0	0	0	0.694	43	1
45^th	Randolph	1	0	1	0	0	0.69	79	34
46^th	Clarkson	1	0	1	0	0	0.69	131	85
47^th	Elm Creek	1	0	1	0	0	0.681	150	103
48^th	Hartington	1	0	1	0	3	0.68	80	32
49^th	Kearney	10	2	3	0	3	0.675	54	5
50^th	Saint Libory	1	0	0	0	0	0.673	107	57
51^st	Utica	1	1	1	0	1	0.672	67	16
52^nd	Pierce	1	0	1	0	1	0.665	29	23
53^rd	Bartley	0	0	1	0	0	0.665	151	98
54^th	Loomis	1	0	1	0	0	0.664	108	54
55^th	Tilden	1	0	1	0	0	0.662	110	55
56^th	Louisville	1	1	1	0	0	0.66	53	3
57^th	Battle Creek	1	0	1	0	1	0.66	88	31
58^th	Mc Cook	2	1	3	0	1	0.66	56	2
59^th	Odell	0	0	1	0	0	0.657	165	106
60^th	Culbertson	1	0	0	0	0	0.657	40	20
61^st	Henderson	1	0	1	0	0	0.654	11	50
62^nd	Grant	1	0	1	0	0	0.652	63	1
63^rd	Adams	0	0	1	1	0	0.652	92	29
64^th	Auburn	2	1	1	1	0	0.65	96	32
65^th	Gordon	1	0	1	0	0	0.648	185	120
66^th	Saint Paul	1	0	1	0	0	0.648	97	31
67^th	Bridgeport	1	0	1	0	0	0.645	90	23
68^th	Laurel	1	0	1	0	0	0.644	58	10
69^th	Ashland	2	1	1	0	0	0.64	30	39
70^th	Hooper	1	0	1	0	0	0.637	115	45
71^st	Kimball	1	0	1	0	0	0.632	175	104
72^nd	Aurora	1	1	1	0	0	0.63	70	2
73^rd	Brainard	1	0	1	0	0	0.628	75	2
74^th	Bancroft	1	0	1	0	0	0.628	179	105
75^th	De Witt	1	0	1	0	0	0.627	27	48
76^th	Polk	0	0	1	0	1	0.625		(n/a)
77^th	Kenesaw	1	0	1	0	0	0.624	77
78^th	West Point	1	1	1	0	3	0.622	48	30
79^th	Oxford	1	0	1	0	0	0.62	69	10
80^th	Friend	1	0	1	0	0	0.618	129	49
81^st	Fullerton	1	0	1	0	0	0.617	170	89
82^nd	Curtis	1	0	1	0	0	0.617	169	87
83^rd	Pawnee City	1	0	1	0	1	0.616	219	136
84^th	Murray	1	0	1	0	0	0.615	82	2
85^th	Platte Center	1	0	0	0	0	0.61	135	50
86^th	Hershey	1	0	1	0	0	0.609	95	9
87^th	Cambridge	1	1	1	0	0	0.606	84	3
88^th	Ravenna	1	0	1	0	0	0.6	45	43
89^th	Milford	1	0	1	0	0	0.599	41	48
90^th	Cairo	1	0	1	0	1	0.597	122	32
91^st	Indianola	1	0	0	0	0	0.591	109	18
92^nd	Crofton	1	0	1	0	1	0.59	57	35
93^rd	David City	1	0	1	0	2	0.584	65	28
94^th	Palmyra	0	1	1	0	0	0.584	78	16
95^th	Benkelman	1	0	1	0	0	0.583	133	38
96^th	Wayne	1	1	1	1	1	0.582	76	20
97^th	Amherst	1	0	1	0	0	0.573	42	55
98^th	Stromsburg	1	1	1	0	0	0.571	83	15
99^th	Plainview	1	0	1	0	1	0.57	89	10
100^th	Merna	1	0	1	0	0	0.568	136	36
101^st	Humphrey	1	0	1	0	1	0.563	144	43
102^nd	Ewing	2	0	2	0	0	0.56	111	9
103^rd	Clarks	1	0	0	0	0	0.542	127	24
104^th	Fairmont	0	1	0	0	0	0.54	37	67
105^th	Scotia	1	0	0	0	0	0.533	174	69
106^th	Bladen	1	0	0	0	0	0.526		(n/a)
107^th	Valentine	2	1	1	0	1	0.526	19	88
108^th	Springfield	1	1	1	0	0	0.521	35	73
109^th	Valley	1	1	2	0	0	0.52	86	23
110^th	Wilcox	1	0	1	0	0	0.518	176	66
111^th	Hebron	1	0	1	0	0	0.516	33	78
112^th	Fairfield	1	1	1	0	0	0.513	140	28
113^th	Lyons	1	0	1	0	0	0.511	120	7
114^th	Franklin	1	1	1	0	0	0.51	71	43
115^th	Broken Bow	1	1	1	0	0	0.506	81	34
116^th	Cook	1	1	0	0	0	0.506	123	7
117^th	Roseland	0	0	1	0	0	0.506	99	18
118^th	Palmer	1	0	1	0	0	0.505	128	10
119^th	Cedar Bluffs	1	1	1	0	0	0.504	173	54
120^th	Sidney	3	2	1	0	0	0.497	139	19
121^st	Hemingford	1	0	1	0	0	0.495	72	49
122^nd	Winside	1	0	1	0	0	0.495	147	25
123^rd	Stapleton	2	0	1	0	0	0.49	101	22
124^th	Tekamah	1	0	1	0	0	0.487	172	48
125^th	Norfolk	7	2	2	1	7	0.485	145	20
126^th	Greeley	0	0	1	0	0	0.485	100	26
127^th	Gothenburg	1	0	1	0	1	0.48	153	26
128^th	Giltner	1	0	1	0	0	0.478	112	16
129^th	Daykin	1	0	1	0	0	0.477	119	10
130^th	Cozad	1	1	1	0	0	0.476	225	95
131^st	Bertrand	1	0	1	0	0	0.476	152	21
132^nd	Holdrege	4	1	1	0	1	0.468	98	34
133^rd	Mc Cool Junction	1	0	1	0	0	0.466	217	84
134^th	Wisner	1	0	1	0	0	0.466	126	8
135^th	Albion	1	1	1	0	1	0.465	64	71
136^th	Ainsworth	1	1	1	0	0	0.46	117	19
137^th	Imperial	1	1	1	0	0	0.44	85	52
138^th	Minden	1	1	1	0	0	0.428	142	4
139^th	La Vista	4	1	1	1	1	0.423	141	2
140^th	Oshkosh	1	0	1	0	0	0.422	68	72
141^st	Scribner	1	0	1	0	0	0.416	93	48
142^nd	Lincoln	41	14	21	0	27	0.414	154	12
143^rd	Dorchester	1	0	1	0	0	0.414	222	79
144^th	Sutton	1	0	1	0	0	0.413	124	20
145^th	Maxwell	1	0	1	0	0	0.411	156	11
146^th	Omaha	113	27	34	3	53	0.411	159	13
147^th	Bellevue	18	3	2	1	7	0.41	166	19
148^th	Ceresco	1	0	0	0	0	0.407	59	89
149^th	Spencer	0	1	1	0	0	0.405	94	55
150^th	Pleasanton	1	0	1	0	0	0.403	121	29
151^st	Plattsmouth	1	1	1	0	2	0.397	161	10
152^nd	Diller	1	0	0	0	0	0.395	105	47
153^rd	Creighton	1	0	1	0	1	0.39	186	33
154^th	Chappell	1	0	1	0	0	0.388	221	67
155^th	North Platte	8	2	1	0	4	0.382	178	23
156^th	Ord	1	0	1	0	1	0.382	206	50
157^th	Hastings	6	2	4	0	3	0.38	181	24
158^th	Sutherland	1	0	1	0	0	0.374	132	26
159^th	Alma	1	0	1	0	0	0.373	158	1
160^th	Wilber	1	1	1	0	0	0.372	194	34
161^st	Red Cloud	1	0	1	0	0	0.371	196	35
162^nd	Oneill	2	0	1	0	2	0.369	164	2
163^rd	Loup City	1	0	1	0	0	0.367	216	53
164^th	Morrill	2	0	1	0	0	0.364	187	23
165^th	Paxton	1	0	1	0	0	0.363	212	47
166^th	Falls City	2	1	1	0	1	0.36	189	23
167^th	Shelby	1	1	1	0	0	0.351	182	15
168^th	Gering	3	2	1	0	0	0.35	167	1
169^th	Wymore	0	0	1	0	0	0.35	237	68
170^th	Homer	1	0	1	0	0	0.345	146	24
171^st	York	1	1	1	0	2	0.344	134	37
172^nd	Weeping Water	1	1	1	0	0	0.343	163	9
173^rd	Stanton	1	0	1	0	0	0.341	130	43
174^th	Wauneta	0	1	1	0	0	0.34	106	68
175^th	Arapahoe	1	0	1	0	0	0.338	149	26
176^th	Neligh	2	0	1	0	0	0.334	162	14
177^th	Scottsbluff	4	1	3	1	3	0.329	184	7
178^th	Shelton	1	0	1	0	0	0.325	215	37
179^th	Raymond	0	1	1	0	0	0.323	214	35
180^th	Tecumseh	1	0	1	0	1	0.321	234	54
181^st	Coleridge	0	1	0	0	0	0.31	143	38
182^nd	South Sioux City	4	1	1	0	1	0.305	220	38
183^rd	Osceola	1	1	1	0	1	0.304	103	80
184^th	Grand Island	16	3	6	0	5	0.295	197	13
185^th	Deshler	1	0	1	0	1	0.294	102	83
186^th	Ogallala	1	0	1	0	2	0.293	208	22
187^th	Ralston	2	1	1	0	1	0.291	211	24
188^th	Alliance	2	1	1	0	3	0.287	230	42
189^th	Superior	1	1	1	0	0	0.287	202	13
190^th	Crete	2	1	2	0	1	0.285	160	30
191^st	Columbus	6	2	2	1	7	0.267	198	7
192^nd	Rushville	2	1	0	0	0	0.26	231	39
193^rd	Genoa	1	0	1	0	0	0.258	61	132
194^th	Blue Springs	1	0	0	0	0	0.248	223	29
195^th	Overton	1	0	1	0	0	0.243	195
196^th	Beatrice	3	1	2	0	2	0.231	183	13
197^th	Wakefield	1	0	1	0	0	0.222	137	60
198^th	Fairbury	2	0	1	0	0	0.215	210	12
199^th	Madison	1	1	2	0	2	0.207	235	36
200^th	Bayard	1	0	1	0	0	0.202	204	4
201^st	Dakota City	1	0	0	0	0	0.189	171	30
202^nd	Nebraska City	2	1	1	1	1	0.171	233	31
203^rd	Gibbon	1	0	1	0	0	0.148	203
204^th	Schuyler	3	1	1	0	0	0.145	228	24
205^th	Lexington	4	1	1	0	0	0.144	229	24
206^th	Fremont	7	2	2	2	3	0.135	232	26
207^th	Winnebago	1	0	1	0	1	0.035	238	31

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when we update our rankings!

Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Nebraska

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

About our rankings:

* Private schools are not used in determining city rank.
Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on test scores released by the Nebraska Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on December 3, 2024, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the Nebraska Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the Nebraska Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

A high school boy doing homework on a laptop

Virtual Schools: The Future of Online Education

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Nebraska Department of Education.