Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 371, settled in 1891.
35% of residents are 65 or older in Spencer, above both the Nebraska town median (19%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Of the 58 Nebraska towns we compare, none has a higher age of the median resident than Spencer. Spencer has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 135 in 1900, a peak of 728 in 1920, 408 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1922 and a map from 1986 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Spencer, 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 Spencer.
Values rose 4.1% in the 12 months to September 2026. The rent at the middle of the market for Spencer comes to $713 a month, below both Nebraska’s towns ($914 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Spencer: nearly three quarters of households own their home.
| Spencer | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $713 a month | $914 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expect July afternoons of 88° and January nights of 12°, with about 31 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Compared with 66% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Spencer is higher. FEMA puts 34% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 25% to drought. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2019.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
21% of working residents work locally in Spencer. Since 2013, Spencer has lost 36 jobs, to 165 in 2023. For Spencer, the middle household income is $59,000. The top destinations are Butte (17%), Lynch (9%) and O'Neill (5%).
| Spencer | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 34% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.7% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The share of adults in Spencer who feel lonely: 28%. Of the 58 Nebraska towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Spencer. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Spencer is ahead of Nebraska on 4 and behind on 11.
| Spencer | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 34% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 23% |
| What stands out | Spencer | NE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.4% | 12.4% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 84.6% | 77.5% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.8% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Spencer; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Spencer residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Nebraska.
3 notable people were born in Spencer.
Village in Nebraska, US
Spencer is a village in Boyd County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 408 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.
Spencer has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
3 notable people were born here, including Bernie Scherer and John C. Whitehorn.