Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 40, settled in 1883.
No town among the 58 in Nebraska we compare has a higher median age than Surprise. Surprise Opera House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Surprise 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: 323 in 1910, 37 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and a map from 1966 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Surprise, 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 Surprise.
Surprise has cold winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 14° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
12% of adults report frequent mental distress in Surprise, against 14% in Nebraska’s towns and 17% across U.S. towns. 27% of Surprise adults feel lonely. Of the 58 Nebraska towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults who binge drink than Surprise.
| Surprise | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 31% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Surprise | NE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.9% | 9.5% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4% | 6.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.2% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Chautauqua Park | — | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Surprise; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Surprise residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Nebraska.
3 notable people were born in Surprise.
Village in Nebraska, US
Surprise is a village in southwestern Butler County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 43 at the 2010 census, and 37 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.
Surprise has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
3 notable people were born here, including Winfred Philip Lehmann and Eva Greenslit Anderson.