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Compare towns

Duncan vs McCool Junction

45 miles apart. The biggest differences: jobs per worker (9.6× in McCool Junction) and typical home built (31 yrs in McCool Junction).

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Duncan, NEA small town of 612Nebraska · 612 people
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McCool Junction, NEA small town of 718Nebraska · 718 people
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Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

DuncanA small town of 612
Quiet strengthsDuncan doesn’t stand out on the data we haveNeighbors can tell you what the numbers miss.
All about Duncan →
McCool JunctionA small town of 718
Quiet strengthsMcCool Junction doesn’t stand out on the data we haveNeighbors can tell you what the numbers miss.
All about McCool Junction →
The biggest differences

Where they differ most

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

Jobs per worker9.6×
McCool Junction is more of a job hub
McCool Junction 0.67Duncan 0.07
Typical home built31 yrs
McCool Junction’s homes are older
Duncan 1969McCool Junction 1938
Property tax bill+31%
Tax bills are bigger in Duncan
Duncan $2,479McCool Junction $1,899
★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

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.

Duncan$1,600/mo
Typical home $245K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.53% · or rent about $1,313/mo · Housing →
McCool Junction$1,620/mo
Typical home $258K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.27% · or rent about $910/mo · Housing →

Within $50 a month of each other.

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.

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Nebraska ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools
–DuncanNot graded C+McCool JunctionBetter than 39% of districts in the state
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
DuncanMcCool Junction
Snow a year26″28″
January low14°F—
July high87°F—
Growing season (days)174d—
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)85th87th
Outdoors & history
DuncanMcCool Junction
Trails—0 mi
Conserved land—0%
Settled—1886
National Register places1—
Archive photos87
Community
DuncanMcCool Junction
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

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

45 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

DuncanNEMcCool JunctionNE
Duncan ↔ McCool Junction45 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.

DuncanMcCool Junction
People
Population 612Lowest 718Highest
Median age 21.6±16Lowest 42% below NE 25.8±5Highest 31% below NE
McCool Junction and Duncan are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 43.5%±30Highest NE: 24.5% 13.8%±3.5Lowest NE: 24.5%
Duncan and McCool Junction are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 10.6%±2Highest NE: 16.7% 7.5%±2.9Lowest NE: 16.7%
Duncan and McCool Junction are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 13.6%Lowest NE: 34.6% 21.3%Highest NE: 34.6%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0.3%±1.8Lowest NE: 6.6% 4%±2.4Highest NE: 6.6%
McCool Junction and Duncan are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $74,688±$28kLowest about the NE average $118,438±$21kHighest 55% above NE
McCool Junction and Duncan are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $162,500±$21kHighest 32% below NE $149,500±$59kLowest 37% below NE
Duncan and McCool Junction are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,313±$977Highest 22% above NE $910±$187Lowest 15% below NE
Duncan and McCool Junction are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $2,479Highest 30% below NE $1,899Lowest 46% below NE
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 57.1%±100Highest NE: 45.1% 3%±53.8Lowest NE: 45.1%
Duncan and McCool Junction are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 1.4%Lowest NE: 10.6% 3.3%Highest NE: 10.6%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 95.6%Highest NE: 66.5% 88.2%Lowest NE: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year 1969Highest 6 yrs older than NE 1938Lowest 37 yrs older than NE
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 21 minHighest 10% above NE 19 minLowest about the NE average
Work from home 5.3%±4.8Highest NE: 11% 1.5%±1.8Lowest NE: 11%
Duncan and McCool Junction are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 0%Lowest 3.6%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 9.8 miLowest 17.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.07Lowest 0.67Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Columbus (44%)York (19%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in McCool JunctionFew work in Duncan
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 71.2Lowest 92.2Highest
Schools
School district —MC COOL JUNCTION PUBLIC SCHS
High school in town —McCool Junction Jr.-Sr. High SCH
Students per teacherat that high school — 10.0
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.

Duncan neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Duncan’s Town Square.

McCool Junction neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to McCool Junction’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Duncan

B
+ Compare
Butler Township639 people · $169K homes

Towns like Duncan

P
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Palmyra589 people · $165K homes
B
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Bone Creek Township421 people · $280K homes
C
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Crofton902 people · $126K homes
I
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Inman Township430 people · $65K homes

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.

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