Counties / Nebraska / Hamilton County

Hamilton County, NE

FIPS 31081 · population 9,464 · outside every metro area

$306k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$306k
▲ 8.0% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$794
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$961
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+50.7%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+8.0%FHFA HPI2025+5.4%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$254k
Surveyed gross rent$794
Rent burden 30%+34.6%
Median year built1973
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
12.2%vacant
4,133estimated housing units
Occupied tenure17.0% renter
owner 83.0%renter 17.0%
Structure mix89.3% single-family
Single-family 89.3%20+ units 0.0%Mobile home 2.6%Other 8.2%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs3,973▼ 0.2% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments376annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,118▲ 5.2% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities29.5% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−0.2%WEEKLY WAGE+5.2%Trade, transportation, and utilities29.5%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Hamilton County presents a valuation-versus-liquidity tension: Zillow’s 2026-06 county home-value reading increased, and FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 5.37%. These are separate vintages and methods; the HPI is an index, not a home value, and their growth rates should not be combined. This merits asset-level investigation by landlords able to verify leases and exit comparables, while buyers relying on continued price momentum should be cautious.

02Housing economics

No county market asking rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s $961 FMR is a payment standard, not an asking-rent proxy. Carrying-cost review starts with the 0.95% effective property-tax rate and $2,407 median annual tax, but those county figures do not establish a subject property’s tax bill. Missing lease comparables, insurance, financing, utilities, maintenance and assessment details prevent a net-cash-flow or coverage conclusion.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s MLS listing market needs a current-sale check: median listing price was down 8.48%, active listings increased, median marketing time was 61 days, and 22.16% of listings had price reductions. These are asking-price, visible-supply, marketing-time and seller-concession signals—not closed-sale prices or standalone proof of buyer demand. The 2025 QCEW county workplace record shows covered employment down 0.23% while average weekly covered-worker wages rose 5.17%; Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Migration was a net 11 tax-return households, while in-movers’ average AGI exceeded out-movers’ by $18,909. Investor share was 6.99% of purchase mortgages, limiting the recorded non-occupant financed presence without capturing cash buyers.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled annual climate loss equals 0.22% of building value. This model is not property-specific insurance pricing, but it makes flood-zone, elevation, claims, coverage, deductible and renewal review necessary. The record lacks closed-sale comparables, market rents, vacancy, property-level taxes and insurance; without them, an underwriter cannot set acquisition value, gross or net yield, or a flood-adjusted operating case.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Hamilton County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Aurora city4.7KHampton village653Giltner village457Phillips village382Marquette village265Hordville village221Overland CDP182Stockham village19
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

8 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Aurora cityIncorporated place
    4,664
  2. 02
    Hampton villageIncorporated place
    653
  3. 03
    Giltner villageIncorporated place
    457
  4. 04
    Phillips villageIncorporated place
    382
  5. 05
    Marquette villageIncorporated place
    265
  6. 06
    Hordville villageIncorporated place
    221
  7. 07
    Overland CDPCensus-designated place
    182
  8. 08
    Stockham villageIncorporated place
    19

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.223% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.95%

$2,407 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+11

234 in · 223 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$18,909

$79,658 arriving · $60,749 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors7.0%

10 of 143 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings35▲ 13.1% year over year
Median days on market61▲ 16.8% year over year
Listings price-reduced22.2%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▼ 8.5% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Property-level rent, vacancy and operating costs could make the economics weaker than the price evidence suggests.
  2. Flood exposure, insurance availability or insurance cost could materially alter carrying costs.
  3. MLS listing softness may not translate into an executable acquisition discount or reliable exit value.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from this record?

No. County market asking rent is not published, and HUD FMR cannot be used as market rent.

Do the Zillow and FHFA measures provide one comparable appreciation rate?

No. Zillow is a county home-value observation for 2026-06, while FHFA is a 2025 repeat-transaction index; they use different methods and vintages.

Which hazard needs property-level diligence?

Inland flood. The record reports modeled climate loss, but flood-zone status, insurance terms, claims history and elevation are not published.