AARP Reveals Nebraska’s 10 Top-Scoring Livable Communities

LINCOLN, NEB. — Today, AARP Nebraska announced the 10 top-scoring livable communities in Nebraska, as part of the new AARP Livability Index™. The index examines factors that support people as they age, including housing, transportation, neighborhood elements, the environment, health status, and community engagement.

Once in place, these attributes and resources enhance personal independence, allowing people to age in place while fostering engagement in the community’s civic, economic, and social life. Data shows top-scoring communities in Nebraska made progress in reducing housing cost as a percentage of income, lowering crime rate, improving drinking water and air quality, increasing area hospital patient satisfaction, offering civic involvement opportunities, improving high school graduation rates, and greater age-group diversity by population.

“Every Nebraskan has unique needs as they age, so where they live and the services and amenities available to them matter,” said AARP Nebraska’s State Director Todd Stubbendieck. “We’re committed to working with local residents, advocates, and policymakers to make all of our communities better places to live for every life stage.”

Nebraska’s capital city, Lincoln, secured an impressive score—ranking 11th place on the Top 25 Livability Index for Large Communities (population 100,000-499,999) in the country.  

Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, City of Lincoln, shared, “Lincoln takes the top spot in Nebraska and secures the 11th position in the country for large communities in the 2023 AARP Livability Index™, reflecting our dedication to enhancing the quality of life for residents of all ages. We look forward to continuing to partner with AARP Nebraska as we pursue Lincoln's designation as an Age Friendly City.”

At the state level, the top spot for cities was taken by Lincoln (1), followed by Holdrege (2), Blair (3), Seward (4), Sidney (5), La Vista (6), Chadron (7), Gretna (8), South Sioux City (9), and Norfolk (10). The top spot for counties was secured by Lancaster (1), followed by Madison (2), Howard (3), and Phelps (4).

“Older adults overwhelmingly want to stay in their current homes and communities as they age, but most of society isn’t prepared to address the needs of a rapidly aging population,” said Rodney Harrell, PhD, AARP Vice President of Family, Home and Community. “The AARP Livability Index™ shows all communities have room to improve to ensure that residents of all ages are active, engaged, and supported, particularly when it comes to affordable housing options. Everyone has a role to play—from community members to researchers, to local advocates and policymakers—to help fill the gaps between what people want and need and what their communities provide, so more older adults can live independently.”

Users can search the website by address, ZIP code, or community to find an overall or category score, identify challenges in their community, and compare their neighborhood to others across performance benchmarks. New search tools include the “Community Finder Quiz” and the “Explore All Communities” feature which match users’ communities according to their preferred location characteristics that meet their unique needs. The updated Index also includes climate data for every community, so users can pinpoint desired locations based on their weather preferences.

The AARP Livability IndexTM platform is the most comprehensive, web-based tool of its kind that scores every neighborhood and community in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the services and amenities that affect people’s lives the most as they age. The platform scores livability by using more than 50 national data sources to measure each community against 61 indicators of livability. To view the AARP Livability Index™ platform or see your community’s score, visit aarp.org/livabilityindex.