Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,924, settled in 1873.
Cozad gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $176K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the Lexington area’s $71K median household income. It grades B overall, 30th among Nebraska's 57 graded towns. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 88% of U.S. towns. No town among the 57 in Nebraska we compare has a higher share of residents 65 or older than Cozad. Cozad has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Hendee Hotel and Allen's Opera House. Only 1 of the 57 Nebraska towns we compare have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Cozad.
Where Cozad beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nebraska), ordered by how far Cozad is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 542 in 1890, 3,988 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 2 maps from 1899 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cozad, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Cozad.
Cozad is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and has seen reported crime fall by about half.
Reported crimes fell from 25 to 5 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
Cozad’s violent crime rate is 0 per 1,000 residents, against 1 in Nebraska’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns. The property crime rate in Cozad is 1.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Cozad | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Cozad Community Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cozad Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 432 | C |
| Cozad High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 248 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NE on state tests and graduation
At 2.5 years of the Lexington area’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $176K) costs less against local pay than in 95% of Nebraska towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
The typical Cozad home is worth about $176,000, up 0.6% in a year, 37% below the Nebraska typical home. Cozad’s median rent is $851 a month, near the Nebraska town median ($921 a month) and below the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Cozad | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $851 a month | $921 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Cozad has cold, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Cozad’s July high is 88°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Cozad’s working residents works in town. Only 3 of the 57 Nebraska towns we compare have a lower median household income than Cozad. Jobs based in Cozad grew to 1,658 in 2023, 123 more than in 2013.
| Cozad | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 36% | 33% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $70,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 7,258 U.S. towns with household incomes like Cozad’s, it is healthier than 71%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Cozad beats the Nebraska average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 17% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Cozad. Among 57 Nebraska towns, just 4 have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Cozad.
| Cozad | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 28% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 76% | 79% |
| What stands out | Cozad | NE |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.3% | 6.1% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 31.6% | 24.3% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4% | 3.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 2008, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cozad.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Cozad | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 3.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Muny Park | — | 16 |
| 2. Ethan's Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Memorial Park | 0.2 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Cozad; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Cozad residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Nebraska.
3 places in Cozad on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Cozad.
City in Nebraska, United States
Cozad is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cozad had a population of 3,988. The town is on the Great Plains of central Nebraska, along the Union Pacific Railroad and U.S. Route 30, just north of the Platte River. The 100th meridian, which roughly marks the eastward boundary of the arid plains, passes just west of the town as is marked nearby on a prominent sign across U.S. 30. In the early 1860s, the meridian was a stop along the Pony Express.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Cozad grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #30 of 57 in Nebraska. It grades C+ for health, A for safety and C+ for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
4 notable people were born here, including Dan Christensen and Heather Armbrust.
