Counties / Nebraska / Platte County

Platte County, NE

FIPS 31141 · population 34,716 · part of Columbus, NE

$284k
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
$284k
▲ 3.4% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
Median asking rent
$1,447
n/a year over year
Zillow ZORI · direct
Gross yield
6.1%
annual rent ÷ price, before costs
derived: rent × 12 ÷ price ✓
HUD 2-bed standard
$1,061
market rent is 1.36x the 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+47.5%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+3.4%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$224k
Surveyed gross rent$897
Rent burden 30%+40.2%
Median year built1973
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
4.7%vacant
14,325estimated housing units
Occupied tenure28.4% renter
owner 71.6%renter 28.4%
Structure mix80.7% single-family
Single-family 80.7%20+ units 4.4%Mobile home 5.3%Other 9.6%
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 jobs19,909▼ 0.5% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments1,159annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,107▲ 4.0% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorManufacturing34.7% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−0.5%WEEKLY WAGE+4.0%Manufacturing34.7%
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

Platte County’s decision tension is positive repeat-sales price evidence versus a later, softer visible listing setting and negative net migration. Investors counting on durable tenant demand or a simple resale should be cautious and investigate locally; those able to verify property-level income and insurance costs may screen the county. Zillow’s 2026-06 median home value is $283,795. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 5.36% annually, a directional measure rather than a home value, and its distinct vintage and method cannot be merged with Zillow.

02Housing economics

Against that home-value benchmark, median asking rent is $1,447 per month and published gross yield is 6.12% before costs, providing a measurable income starting point. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is $1,061 per month; it is a payment standard, not asking rent, and should not replace measured market rent. An effective property-tax rate of 1.29% is a direct carrying-cost input. Taxes, insurance, repairs, vacancy, financing and property-specific rent must be established before gross yield becomes net underwriting.

03Demand & competition

At county workplaces, supplied QCEW annual average covered employment declined 0.50%; this is neither resident employment nor an unemployment measure. Manufacturing is the largest disclosed private supersector, but not the whole economy. Tax-return migration showed a net outflow of 162 households, while movers-in had average income $8,005 below movers-out. Realtor.com MLS evidence shows active inventory increased 54.59% and 15.48% of listings had price reductions; these are asking-market supply and seller-concession measures, not closed sales or proof of buyer demand. Non-occupant purchase mortgages were 6.89% of 363 recorded purchases, indicating limited measured investor participation.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled annual climate loss equals 0.22% of building value. This modeled ratio is not an insurance quote or a property-loss forecast. The record does not publish vacancy, rent trend, unit mix, insurance premiums, flood-zone exposure, debt terms, closed-sale prices or neighborhood-level tax detail. Those gaps prevent a net-yield, affordability, exit-price or asset-specific hazard conclusion; verify lease comparables, tax bills, flood maps, insurance terms and sale comps before relying on county evidence.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Platte 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
Columbus city24.5KNewman Grove city*885Humphrey city713Duncan village612Lakeview CDP447Platte Center village318Lindsay village313Monroe village252
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

11 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Columbus cityIncorporated place
    24,488
  2. 02
    Newman Grove cityIncorporated place · spans 2 counties
    885
  3. 03
    Humphrey cityIncorporated place
    713
  4. 04
    Duncan villageIncorporated place
    612
  5. 05
    Lakeview CDPCensus-designated place
    447
  6. 06
    Platte Center villageIncorporated place
    318
  7. 07
    Lindsay villageIncorporated place
    313
  8. 08
    Monroe villageIncorporated place
    252
  9. 09
    Creston villageIncorporated place
    170
  10. 10
    Cornlea villageIncorporated place
    42
  11. 11
    Tarnov villageIncorporated place
    27

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

0.220% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.29%

$2,885 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration-162

757 in · 919 out

Arriving vs leaving income−$8,005

$50,365 arriving · $58,370 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors6.9%

25 of 363 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 listings152▲ 54.6% year over year
Median days on market59▲ 20.9% year over year
Listings price-reduced15.5%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▼ 2.0% year over year

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

Same metro

The other counties in Columbus, NE

A metro is an average of these. Which side of a county line a property sits on can change the tax bill, the hazard profile and the tenant pool.

CountyPopulationPriceRentYieldHazard
Platte County34,716$284k$1,4476.1%inland flooding
Colfax County10,641$238kn/an/ainland flooding
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Target-property rent, vacancy and operating costs may differ from county median asking-rent and gross-yield measures.
  2. The MLS inventory picture may not match closed-sale pricing or buyer demand in the target neighborhood.
  3. Parcel flood exposure, insurance terms and actual tax bills may materially alter carrying costs.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Is a market-rent-based gross yield available?

Yes. The record publishes median asking rent and gross yield, with yield stated before costs.

Can HUD FMR be used as market rent?

No. It is a two-bedroom payment standard reported separately from the published asking-rent measure.

What employment measure is available?

QCEW supplies annual covered jobs at county workplaces, along with wage and largest disclosed private-supersector data; it is not resident employment or unemployment.