Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
McCook gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $185K, 2.9 years of the county’s $64K median household income. It grades A− overall, 19th of 57 graded towns in Nebraska. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. 58% of working residents work locally in McCook, above both the Nebraska town median (33%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On hazard risk, just 5 of Nebraska’s 133 towns do better. McCook has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Senator George William Norris House and H. P. Stutton House.
Where McCook beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nebraska), ordered by how far McCook is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Senator George William Norris House is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,346 in 1890, 7,446 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1925 and 2 maps from 1954 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in McCook, 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 McCook.
McCook pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Nebraska norm, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Nebraska.
2.5 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Bennett Park, at 51 acres.
| McCook | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 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. Kelley Park | 0.4 mi | 36 |
| 2. Norris Park | 0.3 mi | 2 |
| 3. Bennett Park | — | 51 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Mc Cook Public Schools. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is MC Cook Senior High School, with 448 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| MC Cook Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 411 | A− |
| MC Cook Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 448 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NE on state tests and graduation
McCook grades A− overall with a typical home of about $185K, below the Nebraska typical value; only 8 of the 18 Nebraska towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical McCook home is worth about $185,000, up 1.9% in a year, 34% below the Nebraska typical home. McCook’s median rent is $823 a month.
| McCook | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $823 a month | $921 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in McCook.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 107 to 47 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
Among 45 Nebraska towns, just 3 have a lower violent crime rate than McCook.
| McCook | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.3 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 15.1°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 81% of Nebraska places with climate records; July afternoons average 91.6°.
The July high in McCook is 92°F. McCook has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. About 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| McCook | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 92°F | 87°F | 85°F |
| January low | 15°F | 14°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 3,227 working residents takes 9.1 minutes, against 19.2 across Nebraska.
17% of residents live below the poverty line in McCook. Among 57 Nebraska towns, just 1 have a lower average trip to work than McCook. Since 2013, McCook has lost 235 jobs, to 3,902 in 2023.
| McCook | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 9 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $70,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
McCook has lost 3.6% of its people since 2020, down to 7,157 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 21% of McCook residents are 65 or older. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Nebraska.
| McCook | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 41.2 years | 37.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 22% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 28% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across Nebraska, 49.7% of residents are women.
| McCook | NE | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.6% | 11.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.4% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.6% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.9% | 13.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.1% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.5% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.3% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8% | 7.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.7% | 25% | 26% |
| Some college | 26% | 21.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.8% | 11% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19% | 22.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.5% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 7,996 U.S. towns with household incomes like McCook’s, it is healthier than 80%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
McCook beats the Nebraska average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. Only 2 of the 57 Nebraska towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than McCook.
| McCook | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 39% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 31% | 36% |
| What stands out | McCook | NE |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 7.7% | 6.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.6% | 6.1% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 30.2% | 24.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of McCook; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 McCook residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Nebraska.
6 places in McCook on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in McCook.
City in and county seat of Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States
McCook is a city in and the county seat of Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,446 at the 2020 census.
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. McCook grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #19 of 57 in Nebraska. It grades B− for health, B+ for safety and B+ 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+.
8 notable people were born here, including Ben Nelson and Michael A. Schneider.
