Counties / Nebraska / Valley County

Valley County, NE

FIPS 31175 · population 4,066 · outside every metro area

$193k
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
$193k
▲ 2.9% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$626
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.

One annual series is unavailable
FHFA five-year cumulative+71.4%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+2.9%FHFA HPI2025n/a
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$155k
Surveyed gross rent$626
Rent burden 30%+18.6%
Median year built1961
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
14.8%vacant
2,108estimated housing units
Occupied tenure26.2% renter
owner 73.8%renter 26.2%
Structure mix87.2% single-family
Single-family 87.2%20+ units 2.1%Mobile home 4.2%Other 6.5%
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 jobs1,768▲ 0.8% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments231annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$911▲ 3.2% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities37.0% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+0.8%WEEKLY WAGE+3.2%Trade, transportation, and utilities37.0%
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

Valley County presents a valuation-versus-liquidity tension for buyers willing to verify unit economics and flood exposure; underwriting that assumes ready resale demand should be cautious. Zillow's county median home value was $192,919 in 2026-06, up 2.93% year over year. Separately, FHFA's annual 2025 repeat-transaction HPI showed a cumulative five-year gain of 71.40%. The index is not a home value, and its distinct vintage and method cannot be blended with Zillow's change.

02Housing economics

No market asking rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD's $961 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not a market-rent estimate, and cannot fill that gap. The county's 1.32% effective property-tax rate and $2,041 median annual tax identify carrying costs, but neither should be assumed to apply to a subject parcel. Parcel-level assessments and insurance quotes are needed before fixing operating costs.

03Demand & competition

County workplace conditions do not establish resident labor demand: QCEW reports 1,768 annual average covered jobs at county workplaces, and Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Realtor.com's MLS snapshot shows 12 active listings, a median listing price 7.27% lower year over year, 78 median days on market, and 35.34% of listings price-reduced. These are visible asking-market supply, marketing time, and seller concessions—not sales or proof of buyer demand. Migration was negative 19 tax-return households, though inbound movers' average AGI exceeded outbound movers' by $3,317. Investors made 4 of 21 purchases, or 19.05%; that participation is a small transaction count, not a measure of all buyers.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the named dominant hazard; modeled annual climate loss equals 0.23% of building value, a model measure that should be checked against parcel flood zone, elevation, insurance terms and deductible rather than converted to a dollar loss here. Missing closed-sale prices, market asking rents, vacancy, lease terms, insurance quotes, property condition, and parcel tax assessments prevent validation of exit value, gross yield, operating costs, and flood exposure. The record has no evidence showing tenant demand or buyer absorption beyond current MLS listings; those are the next checks.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Valley 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
Ord city2.1KArcadia village308North Loup village238Elyria village43
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

4 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Ord cityIncorporated place
    2,100
  2. 02
    Arcadia villageIncorporated place
    308
  3. 03
    North Loup villageIncorporated place
    238
  4. 04
    Elyria villageIncorporated place
    43

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

0.228% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.32%

$2,041 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration-19

75 in · 94 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$3,317

$40,253 arriving · $36,936 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors19.1%

4 of 21 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 listings12▼ 27.3% year over year
Median days on market78▼ 4.6% year over year
Listings price-reduced35.3%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▼ 7.3% 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. Subject-level flood insurance and mitigation requirements could exceed what the county climate-loss ratio captures.
  2. The small 21-purchase count and limited listing evidence may not provide a dependable resale or competition read.
  3. Unpublished market rents, vacancy, and lease terms could make actual cash flow materially different from the county screen.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from the supplied record?

No. Market asking rent is not published, and the $961 two-bedroom HUD FMR is a payment standard rather than market rent.

How large is investor participation in recorded purchases?

Investors made 4 of 21 purchases, equal to 19.05%.

What modeled hazard measure is supplied?

The dominant hazard is inland flood, with modeled annual climate loss of 0.23% of building value.