2010 Property Tax Per Capita Comparison

Nebraska's Best and Worst Cities for Property Tax Collections

by Berk Brown, Platte Institute

Last week we continued the discussion on Nebraska's excessive property tax burden when compared to the value of our homes. From this perspective, Nebraskans have the third-highest burden in the nation.

In Nebraska, property taxes are collected at the local level. As a result, local government entities control exactly how much taxpayers pay for the privilege of owning their own homes.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, "The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors." Yet, a quick glance at how much cities in Nebraska collect in property taxes from their residents clearly shows that some communities feel like their residents should pay much more for that safety and happiness than other communities do.

The following data is reflective of only the property taxes collected by the city government. Total property tax bills in each community also include other taxing authorities, but for this collection of data, only the money which goes directly to the city was used. We took a look at all 54 Nebraska cities with populations of at least 2,000 to determine which cities require the least contributions from tax payers to provide services and which are getting the most in revenue from their citizens on a per-capita basis.

According to the rankings, if you truly want to experience Nebraska's "Good Life," in the form of less property taxes on a per-capita basis, then you need to live in the central or northeast portion of the state.

Below is a complete ranking of all 54 cities in Nebraska with a population of 2,000 or greater of the property tax rate per capita:

City2009 Population 2009 Taxes Levied Per Capita
York7,638$504,978.87$66
Kearney30,744$2,517,215.75$81
Lexington10,275$973,336.25$94
Madison2,208$216,814.84$98
Norfolk23,272$2,320,050.06$99
Scottsbluff14,886$1,586,152.70$106
Schuyler5,339$575,893.09$107
Chadron5,437$670,494.12$123
McCook7,410$940,007.81$126
Geneva2,030$261,262.82$128
 Wayne5,346 $720,379.26 $134
Falls City3,933$533,074.21$135
Grand Island46,861$6,410,721.85$136
Gothenburg3,703$510,984.35$137
Gering7,738$1,087,788.97$140
Beatrice12,564$1,816,971,63$144
Alliance8,002$1,207,955,95$150
Cozad4,296$655,819.22$152
Central City2,813$438,353.09$155
Auburn3,230$518,957.06$160
Columbus21,914$3,706,514,48$169
Valentine2,534$430,792,80$170
Holdrege5,121$878,102.77$171
South Sioux City12,213$2,136,637.79$174
Fremont25,007$4,531,264.89$181
Gretna6,736$1,263,572.24$187
Nebraska City6,869$1,295,002.31$188
Plattsmouth6,867$1,303,315.77$189
Seward6,742$1,280,399.50$189
Lincoln254,001$48,380,959.07$190
Hastings25,370$4,973,667.22$196
Kimball2,222$442,486.20$199
Ogallala4,391$887,076.00$202
Fairbury3,663$754,466.15$205
Crete6,290$1,315,950.47$209
David City2,504$524,756.91$209
Blair7,700$1,632,843.77$212
Papillion24,280$5,277,373.15$217
Broken Bow3,139$695,518.40$221
O'Neill3,249$750,078.38$230
West Point3,290$780,310.34$237
Sidney6,331$1,565,841.27$247
Milford2,052$525,200.87$255
Aurora4,196$1,103,988.47$263
North Platte24,137$6,594,873.79$273
Minden2,788$774,518.82$277
Waverly3,302$920,852.91$278
Omaha454,731$129,127,747.40$283
Ashland2,656$758,653,65$285
Bellevue51,044$14,946.292.04$292
Wahoo4,167$1,261,788.42$302
Ralston6,124$1,882,872.56$307
La Vista16,887$5,334,152.43$315
St. Paul2,133$690,108.59$323