Every Nebraska Market, Measured the Same Way
Program and regulatory figures verified October 7, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
One method, one month, one publisher, every market that published both numbers. No hand-picked comparisons and no blended averages.
The method, first
Zillow typical home value (ZHVI, 33rd to 67th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted) against Zillow typical asking rent (ZORI, smoothed and seasonally adjusted). Same publisher, same month, the month ending 31 August 2026, pulled 2026-10-07.
Gross yield is annual rent divided by typical value. Eleven Nebraska metros published both series; those are the eleven below, and no others were estimated or filled in.
★ Mixing publishers or months produces a ratio that looks precise and is not. We do not do it, and that is why some markets you might expect are absent. They did not publish both numbers for that month.
All 11 markets
| Market | Typical value | Typical rent | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington | $212,179 | $1,278 | ★ 7.23% |
| North Platte | $228,180 | $1,285 | 6.76% |
| Kearney | $299,179 | $1,634 | 6.55% |
| Beatrice | $203,240 | $1,089 | 6.43% |
| Grand Island | $256,149 | $1,319 | 6.18% |
| Columbus | $280,082 | $1,441 | 6.17% |
| Hastings | $215,118 | $1,088 | 6.07% |
| Norfolk | $255,700 | $1,267 | 5.95% |
| Fremont | $247,296 | $1,216 | 5.90% |
| Omaha | $308,213 | $1,413 | ★ 5.50% |
| Lincoln | $302,685 | $1,308 | ★ 5.19% |
★ These are market indicators, not a property-level underwrite. They exclude property tax, insurance, vacancy, management, maintenance and capital expenditure. A property screening at 7.23% gross is not a 7.23% property. What the gross figure leaves out.
★★ The finding: both metros are last
Omaha and Lincoln hold most of Nebraska's population, most of its employment and essentially all of its out-of-state investor attention. On this measure they rank 10th and 11th of eleven.
Everything above 5.95% sits west along the I-80 corridor, Lexington, North Platte, Kearney, Grand Island, Columbus, or south at Beatrice. The pattern is not subtle, and it is the same pattern we found in Iowa, where Des Moines ranked 11th of 15.
That does not make the corridor the right answer. It makes it the trade: yield for market depth. Omaha's typical value is about $96,000 higher than Lexington's, and that gap buys appraisal comparables, tenant demand and an exit. Why that matters on a refinance.
★ Nebraska is the flat state
The spread from best to worst is 2.04 percentage points. In Iowa the same calculation on the same day gave 4.05 points across fifteen markets.
Two consequences. First, there is no Nebraska outlier to hunt, no equivalent of a single river town paying two points above everything else. Second, the decision simplifies: corridor or metro, and then it is about the specific property rather than the specific city.
★ A flat distribution also means the property matters more than the market here. Two houses in the same Nebraska town can differ by more than the whole state's inter-market spread.
★ Where the yield comes from matters
Two markets can reach the same yield from opposite directions, and they do not behave the same way.
- Kearney: typical value $299,179, typical rent $1,634: the highest rent in the state. The yield is rent-driven.
- Beatrice: typical value $203,240, typical rent $1,089. Similar yield at 6.43%, reached by a low value.
Rent-driven yield absorbs a vacancy better, because each vacant month costs a smaller share of a larger annual income. Value-driven yield gives you a lower entry price and a lower tax base. Which you want depends on your holding period and your reserves, and it is a real conversation rather than a table lookup.
★ Freshness, stated honestly
Both series are monthly and both move. Every figure here is as of 31 August 2026, verified 2026-10-07, and that date is on the page because a yield table without one is worthless. When we refresh it we will say so.
★ We publish no rates or payment figures anywhere on this site, so nothing in this table is a return projection. It is a screen for where to look.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
Which Nebraska city has the highest rental yield?
Lexington, at a gross yield of 7.23% on a typical home value of $212,179 against a typical asking rent of $1,278 for the month ending 31 August 2026. North Platte followed at 6.76% and Kearney at 6.55%. Gross yield is annual rent divided by typical value and is a market indicator, not a property-level underwrite.Where do Omaha and Lincoln rank on Nebraska rental yield?
Last. Omaha ranked tenth of eleven Nebraska metros at a gross yield of 5.50% on a typical value of $308,213 and typical rent of $1,413, and Lincoln ranked eleventh at 5.19% on $302,685 and $1,308, for the month ending 31 August 2026. Every yield above 5.95% was west of them along the I-80 corridor or south at Beatrice.How is gross rental yield calculated for these Nebraska markets?
Annual rent divided by typical home value, using Zillow typical home value at the 33rd to 67th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted, against Zillow typical asking rent, smoothed and seasonally adjusted, for the same publisher and the same month ending 31 August 2026. Eleven Nebraska metros published both series and none were estimated.How wide is the yield spread across Nebraska?
2.04 percentage points, from Lexington at 7.23% to Lincoln at 5.19%, for the month ending 31 August 2026. Iowa measured the same way on the same day spanned 4.05 points across fifteen markets, so Nebraska is the flatter of the two states and the property matters more than the market.Which Nebraska market has the highest rents?
Kearney, at a typical asking rent of $1,634 for the month ending 31 August 2026, against a typical home value of $299,179, which still produced the state's third-highest gross yield at 6.55%. Rent-driven yield absorbs a vacancy better than value-driven yield, because each vacant month is a smaller share of a larger annual income.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about investment-property financing, not a loan commitment and not legal or tax advice. Nebraska foreclosure, reinstatement and deficiency rules are set by the Nebraska Trust Deeds Act and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against the statutes themselves. Gross yield figures are a market indicator built from published typical values and typical asking rents, not a property-level underwrite: they exclude taxes, insurance, vacancy and management. Property valuation and the homestead exemption are administered by the county assessor and the Department of Revenue. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.