Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainHow is Fairbury run?
Fairbury’s city government spent $5.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, about $1,414 per resident.
What stands out about how Fairbury is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
Fairbury Public Schools
Fairbury’s K–12 school district, shared with Endicott, Jansen, Reynolds, Harbine. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $16,997 per pupil, $10,716 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Nebraska districts overall: 56% local, 34% state, 10% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
About $1,414 per resident a year, or $3.87 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: housing & development, at 22%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$1,276 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Fairbury’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,276 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 32 Nebraska cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,409, and the middle half spent $1,096–$1,810. Fairbury spent less than 53% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($851,000), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Nebraska cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Fairbury itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 18% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Fairbury reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $1,276 · 2023: $1,245 · 2024: $1,414. Per resident it went from $1,276 to $1,414 (up 11%), partly because the Census population behind it changed from 3,646 to 3,887.
full-time in March 2025, the same as 32 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,784 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.75% of the home’s value, vs 1.49% across Nebraska.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Fairbury’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Fairbury’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Fairbury →
Who’s in charge in Fairbury
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Fairbury’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on fairburyne.org ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 121 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (3,887).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Fairbury’s votes are counted by county
Nebraska reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Fairbury alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Jefferson County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican72.0%2,614 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat26.7%968 votesOthers: 1.3% (49 votes).
Most votes in Jefferson County: Donald J Trump
Nebraska: Trump 59.3%, Harris 38.9%
100% of Fairbury lies in Jefferson County. Every 2024 race in Jefferson County is on the county’s page.
Jefferson County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Fairbury.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: fairburyne.org ↗
- 2Nebraska SenateState senator
- 3GovernorStatewide
- 4U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 5U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Nebraska
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Fairbury’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Fairbury’s government
How much does Fairbury spend per resident?
About $1,414 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,276 was less than 53% of 32 Nebraska cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Fairbury?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,784 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.75% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.49% across Nebraska. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see fairburyne.org.
Who runs Fairbury’s government?
See fairburyne.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Fairbury yet.
How did Fairbury vote in 2024?
Nebraska counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Fairbury alone. Jefferson County, where 100% of Fairbury lies, voted Trump 72.0%, Harris 26.7% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Fairbury?
32 full-time and 9 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $204,967 (about $2.5M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Fairbury in the state legislature?
State Senate District 32 (Tom Brandt). Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Fairbury’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →