Hastings, Nebraska

Area Profile

25,008 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Hastings, in Adams County.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 24% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 49% of 4,199 cities measured56
SchoolsTop 41% of 4,162 cities measured57
Growth3,049th of 4,224 cities measured39
Housing affordabilityTop 39% of 4,218 cities measured70
Climate3,530th of 4,225 cities measured60
Physical resilience3,233rd of 4,226 cities measured30
Access4,147th of 4,226 cities measured41
Economic stability2,288th of 4,226 cities measured56
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.1% and median household income $64,048, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 49% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.8 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 65 units authorized over the past twelve months, 76% below the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
25,008
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$64,048
Bottom 46% nationally
Density
1,677/sq mi
14.9 sq mi of land
Median age
37.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Nebraska
Micro area
Nearest major airport
LNK
87 mi · Lincoln
Median home value
$184,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.1%, lower than in 91% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 2.2% over the past year, to 13,383 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsAdams County, NE’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,55710th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftAdams County, NE’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$49,9977th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,8172024 ACS 5-Year$64,048Bottom 46%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,4142024 ACS 5-Year$36,004Top 43%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year13.9%Bottom 38%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year15.4 minTop 6%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.2%Top 32%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year82.3%67th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202613,383Bottom 9%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.8%Bottom 42%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.2%Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202613,8058th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year85.3%Top 23%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Bottom 49%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.1%Top 9%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.9%31st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.71.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.1% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202464k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $64,048 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

49% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 50% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.8 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
13
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.8
across 10 of them
Math proficiency
49.4%
Top 50% in Nebraska
Reading proficiency
49.6%
Top 50% in Nebraska
The 12 largest of 13 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Hastings Senior High SchoolHASTINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS99114.643%42%
Hastings Middle SchoolHASTINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS75712.448%45%
Adams Central Elementary SchoolADAMS CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS50614.969%65%
Morton Early Learning CenterHASTINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS50145.5——
Adams Central Jr-Sr High SchADAMS CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS45212.259%58%
Hawthorne Elementary SchoolHASTINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS34311.857%52%
Raymond a Watson Elem SchoolHASTINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS33612.952%52%
Longfellow Elementary SchoolHASTINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS30512.247%52%
Lincoln Elementary SchoolHASTINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS28910.327%42%
Alcott Elementary SchoolHASTINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS26711.637%47%
West Hastings High SchoolWEST HASTINGS SCHOOL227.3——
Esu #9 Preschool Home Base PrgEDUCATIONAL SERVICE UNIT 090———

44.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Nebraska’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Nebraska is up 46% over five years, and up 3.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,846 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.54% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $961, some 12% above the $858 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $961 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,400 a year, about 60% of the median household income here of $64,048.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $858 a month.

A median home at $184,700 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $85,488, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
31.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$961
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$858
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$184,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Hastings’s median household income of $64,048, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Nebraska’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%54th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Nebraska’s figure2026 Q2+45.6%65th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Nebraska’s figure2026 Q2+86.2%38th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 39%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year65.1%28th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1092024 ACS 5-Year11,40895th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$811Top 8%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,268Top 6%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$961Top 5%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$532024 ACS 5-Year$858Top 37%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,5282024 ACS 5-Year$184,70049th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1462024 ACS 5-Year$2,84671st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,2922024 ACS 5-Year$85,488Top 42%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.13%2024 ACS 5-Year1.54%80th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year31.2%Bottom 35%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±222024 ACS 5-Year1468th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%52nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.3%46th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2032024 ACS 5-Year73193rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

39/ 100
Ranks 3,049 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 25,152 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 111 units authorized in 2025, 47% below the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 65 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Adams County, which contains Hastings, lost about 0.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $51,557, close to the $49,997 of households that moved out.

At 2.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
65
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.6
Top 50% nationally
Year over year
−76%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202425k25k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
32%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$51,557
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$49,997
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Hall County, NE 207 people · 17% of arrivals
  2. Clay County, NE 102 people · 8.5% of arrivals
  3. Lancaster County, NE 76 people · 6.3% of arrivals
  4. Buffalo County, NE 63 people · 5.2% of arrivals
  5. Webster County, NE 38 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Hall County, NE 181 people · 14% of departures
  2. Lancaster County, NE 128 people · 10% of departures
  3. Clay County, NE 87 people · 6.8% of departures
  4. Buffalo County, NE 81 people · 6.3% of departures
  5. Douglas County, NE 78 people · 6.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Adams County, NE. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202521126
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+152%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 16°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 26.4 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HASTINGS MUNI AP, 2.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals26.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals16°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals51°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

30 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hail, inland flooding and tornado, with hail alone responsible for 39% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HailHigh
Strong windHigh
DroughtModerate
LightningElevated
Ice stormModerate
TornadoHigh
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, wildfire, inland flooding, earthquake, cold wave, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
238
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,459
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Hastings's police department reported 238 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,459.

Adams County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 14.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 5.7 per 100,000 residents in Adams County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
5.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
19.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Hastings’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Hastings (Adams County) rather than Hastings itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Lincoln at 87 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year89.6%Bottom 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle87 miBottom 2%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.3%Top 50%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
LincolnLNK87 mi8,649 ft
North Platte Rgnl/Lee Bird FldLBF125 mi8,001 ft
Eppley AirfieldOMA139 mi9,502 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
51
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Hastings

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Hastings with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Hastings closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
6890126,264$66,585$190,100—