Photo: Ryan Renner · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Fort Calhoun run?
Fort Calhoun’s city government spent $994,000 on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2023, about $893 per resident. Water and other utilities ($251,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Fort Calhoun is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $893 per resident a year, or $2.45 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: administration & buildings, at 28%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$913 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Fort Calhoun’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($913 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 472 Nebraska cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,038, and the middle half spent $774–$1,452. Fort Calhoun spent less than 62% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($216,000), 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 under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Fort Calhoun itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 10% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Fort Calhoun 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: $913 · 2023: $893. Per resident it went from $913 to $893 (down 2%), partly because the Census population behind it changed from 993 to 1,113.
full-time in March 2025, up from 1 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $4,507 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.55% 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 Fort Calhoun’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. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Fort Calhoun’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Fort Calhoun →
Who’s in charge in Fort Calhoun
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 557 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2023 finance file (1,113).
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.
Fort Calhoun Community Schools
Fort Calhoun’s K–12 school district, shared with Township 1. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $13,979 per pupil, $7,415 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.
Fort Calhoun’s votes are counted by county
Nebraska reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Fort Calhoun alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Washington County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican70.6%8,855 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat28.2%3,538 votesOthers: 1.2% (152 votes).
Most votes in Washington County: Donald J Trump
Nebraska: Trump 59.3%, Harris 38.9%
100% of Fort Calhoun lies in Washington County. Every 2024 race in Washington County is on the county’s page.
Washington 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 Fort Calhoun.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 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 Fort Calhoun’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Fort Calhoun’s government
How much does Fort Calhoun spend per resident?
About $893 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2023, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $913 was less than 62% of 472 Nebraska cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Fort Calhoun?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $4,507 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.55% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.49% across Nebraska. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs Fort Calhoun’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Fort Calhoun yet.
How did Fort Calhoun vote in 2024?
Nebraska counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Fort Calhoun alone. Washington County, where 100% of Fort Calhoun lies, voted Trump 70.6%, Harris 28.2% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Fort Calhoun?
2 full-time and 4 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $12,179 (about $146,148 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Fort Calhoun in the state legislature?
State Senate District 16 (Ben Hansen). Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Fort Calhoun’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 →