Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,023, settled in 1869. 26% more library visits per person than the typical Nebraska town.
Yes, by almost any measure. Wahoo earns an A+, 2nd among Nebraska's 57 graded towns. Its schools outperform 89% of the state's, it reports less crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns, and it is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. Its lowest mark, a B, is in incomes. Wahoo's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 96% of U.S. towns. 29% of residents are under 18 in Wahoo, above both Nebraska’s towns (24%) and U.S. towns (22%). The biggest park or preserve is Hackberry Park, at 23 acres.
Where Wahoo beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Wahoo Elementary School | PK–5 | 475 |
| St. Wenceslaus School | PK–6 | 294 |
| Wahoo Middle School | 6–8 | 226 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nebraska), ordered by how far Wahoo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,064 in 1880, 4,818 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1888 and 3 maps from 1899 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wahoo, 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 Wahoo.
Wahoo pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and sees little violent crime.
That grade comes with a B for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $288K.
The Wahoo Public Schools runs its public schools. Of its 6 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. The largest public high school is Wahoo High School, with 341 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wahoo Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 475 | B− |
| Wahoo High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 341 | B+ |
| Wahoo Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 226 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NE on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
In Wahoo, the property crime rate is 3 per 1,000 residents. The town’s level of violent crime stands at 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Wahoo | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
13% of Wahoo adults report frequent mental distress. CDC measures, 32 in all: Wahoo beats Nebraska on 2 and trails on 1. Among adults locally, 21% binge drink and 28% feel lonely. Only 2 of the 57 Nebraska towns we compare have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Wahoo.
| Wahoo | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 31% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 19% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 23% |
| What stands out | Wahoo | NE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.1% | 12.4% |
| More adults seeing a dentist | 69.8% | 64.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 14° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Wahoo, 14% of residents live below the poverty line. About one worker in three stays in Wahoo for work. Its middle household income comes in at $89,000. The top destinations are Omaha (18%), Lincoln (18%) and Fremont (4%).
| Wahoo | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 31% | 35% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Here, 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 35% in Nebraska as a whole. The midpoint age for Wahoo comes to 35.5 years. The town has grown 4.6% since 2020, to 5,023 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Wahoo | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 28% | 29% |
| Median age | 35.5 years | 37.8 years | 40.5 years |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.3 points. Across Nebraska, 49.7% of residents are women.
| Wahoo | NE | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 16.8% | 11.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.1% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.2% | 13.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.3% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.5% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.7% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.5% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.7% | 7.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.1% | 25% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.1% | 21.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12% | 11% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.9% | 22.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.2% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
On expected storm and flood damage, Wahoo sits above 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out here. FEMA puts 38% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 28% to tornadoes. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2025.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Trails run 0.5 miles in 6 parks and preserves. Wahoo’s concentration of trails is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Wahoo | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.6% | 3.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hackberry Park | — | 23 |
| 2. Lake Wanahoo NRD Recreation Area | — | 20 |
| 3. Placek Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes are within reach (about $288K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 22 miles.
Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026. In Wahoo, the median rent is $907 a month. For households locally, the share who are owner-occupiers is 67%.
| Wahoo | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $907 a month | $921 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Wahoo; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Wahoo residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Nebraska.
2 places in Wahoo on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Wahoo.
City in and county seat of Saunders County, Nebraska, United States
Wahoo ( WAH-hoo; from Dakota wǧhu, meaning 'arrow wood') is a city and the county seat of Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,818 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Wahoo.
| Town | NE rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wahoo | #2 | A+ | B | A− | A | B+ |
| Center Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stocking Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Center Township and Stocking Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wahoo with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Wahoo grades A+ overall, better than 97% of U.S. towns and #2 of 57 in Nebraska. It grades B+ for health, A− for safety and A for schools.
Yes, by national standards. Wahoo reports less crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns, an A− Safety Grade: 3 violent and 15 property crimes in 2025.
That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($84,829 across the Omaha, NE-IA metro 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.
12 notable people were born here, including George Wells Beadle and Darryl F. Zanuck.
