Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Because it does well by almost any measure. David City earns an A, ranked 6th of 57 in Nebraska. A typical home costs about $212K, 2.7 years of the county’s $79K median household income, and its schools rank ahead of 82% of Nebraska towns. Its lowest mark, a C+, is in incomes. 40% of working residents work locally in David City, where Nebraska’s towns sit at 33% and U.S. towns at 8%. David City's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 89% of U.S. towns. David City has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Thorpe's Opera House and David City Park and Municipal Auditorium.
Where David City beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| David City Elementary School | PK–6 | 315 |
| Aquinas Catholic Elementary School | PK–5 | 233 |
| David City Secondary School | 7–12 | 307 |
Thorpe's Opera HouseEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nebraska), ordered by how far David City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,000 in 1880, 2,995 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1889 and 3 maps from 1899 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in David City, 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 David City.
David City pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the Nebraska norm, pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its A− for schools comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $212K.
Its public schools are run by the David City Public Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is David City Secondary School, with 307 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| David City Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 315 | B+ |
| David City Secondary SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 307 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NE on state tests and graduation
1.7 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Only 5 of the 56 Nebraska towns we compare have a lower share of conserved land than David City.
| David City | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 3.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. David City Park | 0.2 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
David City grades A overall with a typical home of about $212K, below the Nebraska typical value; only 8 of the 18 Nebraska towns graded A− or better can say that. At 2.7 years of the county’s $79K median household income, the typical home (about $212K) costs less against local pay than in 82% of Nebraska towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
David City’s median rent is $767 a month. Typical home values rose 5.6% in the year to September 2026.
| David City | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $767 a month | $921 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
David City has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 14° and about 32 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,038 U.S. towns with household incomes like David City’s, it is healthier than 85%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
David City beats the Nebraska average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 16% of David City adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| David City | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 19% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 14% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 36% |
| What stands out | David City | NE |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
15% of residents live below the poverty line in David City. The top destinations are Lincoln (10%), Columbus (8%) and Omaha (5%). The average trip to work in David City is 19 minutes.
| David City | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $70,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Nebraska average. David City has grown 2.1% since 2020, to 3,068 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Nebraska.
| David City | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35.9 years | 37.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 24% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Nebraska, 49.7% of residents are women.
| David City | NE | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.9% | 11.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.6% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.8% | 13.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.2% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.6% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.8% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.8% | 7.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.8% | 25% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.6% | 21.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5% | 11% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26% | 22.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.7% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,100, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of David City; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 David City residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Nebraska.
2 places in David City on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in David City.
City in Nebraska, United States
David City is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,995 at the 2020 census. David City was founded in 1873 to serve as the county seat when county residents desired a more centrally located county seat than Savannah.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with David City.
| Town | NE rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David City | #6 | A | A | — | A− | B |
| Franklin Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Olive Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
David City reports no FBI crime data of its own. Franklin Township and Olive Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare David City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. David City grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #6 of 57 in Nebraska. It grades B for health and A− 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 A.
8 notable people were born here, including Ruth Etting and Roman Hruska.
