A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Dawson$1,380/mo

Typical home $204K (Zillow) · tax rate est. 1.8% · or rent about $700/mo · Housing →

Melbeta$560/mo

Typical home $90K (Census) · tax rate 1.18% · or rent about $850/mo · Housing →

The difference: $820 a month, about $9,800 a year, between Dawson and Melbeta.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

DawsonMelbeta

Snow a year24″43″

January low—15°F

July high—91°F

Growing season (days)—149d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)67th 81st

Outdoors & history

DawsonMelbeta

Trails—0 mi

Conserved land—0%

Settled—1911

Archive photos4 3

Famous people born here—1

Community

DawsonMelbeta

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

417 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

DawsonNE MelbetaNE

Dawson ↔ Melbeta417 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Nebraska average

DawsonMelbeta

People

Population 166Highest 146Lowest

Median age 53.9±13Lowest 45% above NE 55.8±13.9Highest 50% above NE

Melbeta and Dawson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 21.1%±11.7Highest NE: 24.5% 11.6%±14Lowest NE: 24.5%

Dawson and Melbeta are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 31.3%±23.6Lowest NE: 16.7% 31.5%±17.5Highest NE: 16.7%

Melbeta and Dawson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 7.3%Highest NE: 34.6% 6.5%Lowest NE: 34.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.2%±8.3Highest NE: 6.6% 2.1%±7.3Lowest NE: 6.6%

Dawson and Melbeta are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $60,913±$7kHighest 20% below NE $47,000±$37kLowest 39% below NE

Dawson and Melbeta are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied — $90,000±$69k 62% below NE

Rentmedian gross, monthly $700±$615Lowest 35% below NE $850±$311Highest 21% below NE

Melbeta and Dawson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $375Lowest 89% below NE $1,063Highest 70% below NE

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 100%±100 NE: 45.1% 100%±81.2 NE: 45.1%

Below poverty line 3.7%Lowest NE: 10.6% 10.3%Highest NE: 10.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 89.3%Highest NE: 66.5% 81.3%Lowest NE: 66.5%

Typical home builtmedian year 1938Lowest 37 yrs older than NE 1943Highest 32 yrs older than NE

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 26 minHighest 37% above NE 16 minLowest 17% below NE

Work from home 9%±8Lowest NE: 11% 47.4%±32.8Highest NE: 11%

Melbeta and Dawson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0% 0%

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 16.8 miHighest 10.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.00Lowest 0.13Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Humboldt (17%)Scottsbluff (31%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in MelbetaFew work in Dawson

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 1Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 116Lowest 176Highest

Nebraska average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Dawson neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Dawson’s Town Square.

Melbeta neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Melbeta’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Dawson and Melbeta

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Dawson

+ Compare

Kilgore135 people · $49K homes

+ Compare

Holstein185 people · $104K homes

+ Compare

Liberty Township188 people · $44K homes

+ Compare

Nehawka109 people · $119K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Nebraska towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Dawson vs Melbeta

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $820 more a month in Dawson

What daily life feels like in each

417 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Dawson and Melbeta

Towns like Dawson

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