Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,849, settled in 1870. 85% more library visits per person than the typical Nebraska town.
The best of Pierce’s subject grades is an A+ for civic life; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. Among 46 Nebraska towns, just 2 have a lower violent crime rate than Pierce. On civic life, just 2 of Nebraska’s 127 towns do better. Pierce has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Pierce beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Pierce Elementary School | PK–6 | 338 |
| Zion Lutheran School | PK–8 | 126 |
| Pierce Jr./Sr. High School | 7–12 | 340 |
Where Pierce’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nebraska), ordered by how far Pierce is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 73 in 1880, 1,845 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1963 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pierce, 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 Pierce.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 81% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Pierce since 2019.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Pierce Public Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Pierce Jr./Sr. High School, with 340 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierce Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 338 | B |
| Pierce Jr./Sr. High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 340 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NE on state tests and graduation
Pierce beats the Nebraska average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 29% of Pierce adults sleep under 7 hours, below both Nebraska’s towns (31%) and U.S. towns (36%). 20% of adults binge drink in Pierce.
| Pierce | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 19% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 14% | 17% |
| What stands out | Pierce | NE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8% | 12.4% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.1% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Pierce for work: only 11% work in town. 4.9% of Pierce residents live below the poverty line, where Nebraska’s towns sit at 11% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Pierce’s average trip to work is 19 minutes.
| Pierce | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 34% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.9% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Pierce has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. Among 58 Nebraska towns, just 3 have a lower July high than Pierce.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Nebraska average. The median age in Pierce is 35.3 years. 25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Nebraska.
| Pierce | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35.3 years | 37.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 28% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 24% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±8.5 points. Across Nebraska, 49.7% of residents are women.
| Pierce | NE | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.1% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.2% | 11.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.2% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.1% | 13.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.4% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.9% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.4% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.9% | 7.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.7% | 25% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.4% | 21.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 17.3% | 11% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.6% | 22.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.1% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,800, single groups can be off by several points
Pierce's reported crime rate is well below Nebraska's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. No violent crimes were reported in 2025.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Pierce home is worth about $293,000, up 3.9% in a year, 5% above the Nebraska typical home. Only 3 of the 57 Nebraska towns we compare have a higher median rent than Pierce. 77% of Pierce households own their home.
| Pierce | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 77% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,274 a month | $914 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Pierce
About 5 of every 100 Pierce residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Nebraska.
City in Nebraska, United States
Pierce is a city in and the county seat of Pierce County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2020 census, Pierce had a population of 1,845.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
85% more library visits per person than the typical Nebraska town.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($65,968 across the Norfolk, NE 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.