Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,466, settled in 1871. A typical home costs 3 years of the Hastings area’s $70K median household income.
Sutton’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and civic life; its weakest is a D for hazard risk. Isaac Newton Clark House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Sutton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Sutton beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Sutton Elementary School | PK–6 | 225 |
| Sutton Secondary School | 7–12 | 174 |
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nebraska), ordered by how far Sutton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,541 in 1890, 1,447 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1912 and 3 maps from 1898 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sutton, 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 Sutton.
In Sutton, the FEMA hazard score is 80 of 100, above both Nebraska’s towns (55 of 100) and U.S. towns (44 of 100). FEMA puts two fifths of the town’s expected hazard losses down to hail, and 24% to strong winds. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Sutton after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2021.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its two schools are below. The Sutton Public Schools runs its public schools. Public school enrollment here: 399 students across 2 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 225 | B |
| Sutton Secondary SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 174 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NE on state tests and graduation
85% of Sutton households are owner-occupiers, where Nebraska’s towns sit at 67% and U.S. towns at 73%. Home values are up 7.1% over the year to September 2026. Its midpoint rent comes in at $923 a month.
| Sutton | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $923 a month | $914 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Summer afternoons peak near 87° in July, and January nights bottom out around 15°; snowfall runs to about 23 inches a winter. Expect chilly winters and warm summers in Sutton.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of residents in Sutton who are 65 or older: 24%. Only 2 of the 58 Nebraska towns we compare have a higher median age than Sutton. Here, 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 35% in Nebraska as a whole.
| Sutton | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 48 years | 37.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 24% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.9 points. Across Nebraska, 49.7% of residents are women.
| Sutton | NE | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.4% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.9% | 11.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.9% | 13.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.2% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.8% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.9% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.6% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.8% | 7.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.7% | 25% | 26% |
| Some college | 22% | 21.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 16% | 11% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.7% | 22.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.8% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,500, single groups can be off by several points
Nearly a quarter of working residents work locally in Sutton. The top destinations are Hastings (16%), Grand Island (8%) and Harvard (6%). Its average trip to work stands at 17 minutes. Half of commuters travel less than 27 miles.
| Sutton | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 34% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.8% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $81,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
CDC measures, 32 in all: Sutton beats Nebraska on 5 and trails on 6. 18% of Sutton adults binge drink. Also worth knowing: only 3 of the 58 Nebraska towns we compare have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Sutton.
| Sutton | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Sutton | NE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.3% | 12.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.3% | 6.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Sutton's reported crime rate is well below Nebraska's. Among 46 Nebraska towns, just 2 have a lower violent crime rate than Sutton. Police in Sutton reported no property crime.
| Sutton | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sutton City Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Sutton; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Sutton residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Nebraska.
3 notable people were born in Sutton.
City in Nebraska, United States
Sutton is a city in Clay County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,447 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hastings, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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 A.
3 notable people were born here, including Madeleine Leininger and John R. Bender.