Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in Nebraska
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
Nebraska ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dawes County | 15.2" | Very Low | $146,500 |
| 2 | Sheridan County | 15.2" | Very Low | $102,900 |
| 3 | Banner County | 15.7" | Very Low | $166,300 |
| 4 | Scotts Bluff County | 15.7" | Relatively Low | $161,400 |
| 5 | Sioux County | 15.8" | Very Low | $141,700 |
| 6 | Kimball County | 15.8" | Very Low | $109,900 |
| 7 | Chase County | 17.5" | Very Low | $178,700 |
| 8 | Box Butte County | 18.0" | Very Low | $161,100 |
| 9 | Cheyenne County | 18.2" | Very Low | $129,100 |
| 10 | Grant County | 18.3" | Very Low | $113,900 |
| 11 | McPherson County | 18.3" | Very Low | $124,200 |
| 12 | Thomas County | 18.3" | Very Low | $113,000 |
| 13 | Morrill County | 18.6" | Very Low | $112,000 |
| 14 | Garden County | 18.8" | Very Low | $95,500 |
| 15 | Deuel County | 19.0" | Very Low | $97,200 |
| 16 | Keith County | 19.2" | Very Low | $157,000 |
| 17 | Keya Paha County | 19.4" | Very Low | $108,800 |
| 18 | Dundy County | 19.7" | Very Low | $118,200 |
| 19 | Red Willow County | 20.1" | Very Low | $143,500 |
| 20 | Hitchcock County | 20.3" | Very Low | $88,800 |
| 21 | Arthur County | 20.6" | Very Low | $188,800 |
| 22 | Cherry County | 20.9" | Very Low | $136,000 |
| 23 | Lincoln County | 21.2" | Relatively Low | $183,100 |
| 24 | Frontier County | 21.3" | Very Low | $138,800 |
| 25 | Perkins County | 21.4" | Very Low | $149,200 |
| 26 | Hayes County | 21.5" | Very Low | $112,800 |
| 27 | Custer County | 22.9" | Very Low | $160,500 |
| 28 | Dawson County | 23.4" | Relatively Low | $157,800 |
| 29 | Gosper County | 23.4" | Very Low | $202,700 |
| 30 | Logan County | 23.8" | Very Low | $160,000 |
| 31 | Valley County | 23.8" | Very Low | $122,200 |
| 32 | Hooker County | 24.3" | Very Low | $85,400 |
| 33 | Knox County | 24.3" | Very Low | $116,900 |
| 34 | Furnas County | 24.6" | Relatively Low | $91,800 |
| 35 | Harlan County | 25.4" | Very Low | $147,200 |
| 36 | Webster County | 25.5" | Relatively Low | $102,000 |
| 37 | Blaine County | 25.5" | Very Low | $102,100 |
| 38 | Brown County | 25.5" | Very Low | $100,200 |
| 39 | Buffalo County | 25.6" | Relatively Low | $236,800 |
| 40 | Kearney County | 25.7" | Very Low | $218,300 |
| 41 | Greeley County | 25.8" | Very Low | $87,800 |
| 42 | Holt County | 25.9" | Very Low | $152,000 |
| 43 | Adams County | 26.4" | Relatively Low | $185,800 |
| 44 | Sherman County | 26.5" | Very Low | $135,000 |
| 45 | Franklin County | 26.5" | Very Low | $99,100 |
| 46 | Garfield County | 26.6" | Very Low | $144,900 |
| 47 | Hall County | 26.6" | Relatively Low | $207,900 |
| 48 | Loup County | 26.8" | Very Low | $120,700 |
| 49 | Madison County | 27.0" | Relatively Low | $196,000 |
| 50 | Stanton County | 27.0" | Very Low | $184,300 |
| 51 | Rock County | 27.1" | Very Low | $124,400 |
| 52 | Wheeler County | 27.2" | Very Low | $135,900 |
| 53 | Boone County | 27.2" | Relatively Low | $164,700 |
| 54 | Howard County | 27.3" | Very Low | $205,200 |
| 55 | Boyd County | 27.4" | Very Low | $104,000 |
| 56 | Wayne County | 27.5" | Very Low | $203,700 |
| 57 | Pierce County | 27.5" | Very Low | $182,700 |
| 58 | Antelope County | 27.6" | Very Low | $116,900 |
| 59 | Phelps County | 27.6" | Very Low | $173,300 |
| 60 | Nance County | 27.7" | Very Low | $122,800 |
| 61 | Nuckolls County | 27.9" | Very Low | $90,900 |
| 62 | Fillmore County | 28.2" | Very Low | $131,200 |
| 63 | Burt County | 28.3" | Very Low | $125,400 |
| 64 | Dodge County | 28.3" | Relatively Low | $188,100 |
| 65 | Washington County | 28.3" | Very Low | $278,300 |
| 66 | Merrick County | 28.5" | Relatively Low | $168,000 |
| 67 | York County | 28.6" | Relatively Low | $175,900 |
| 68 | Colfax County | 28.7" | Very Low | $128,800 |
| 69 | Platte County | 28.7" | Relatively Low | $207,800 |
| 70 | Seward County | 28.7" | Very Low | $232,400 |
| 71 | Polk County | 28.8" | Very Low | $177,800 |
| 72 | Dixon County | 28.8" | Very Low | $141,400 |
| 73 | Dakota County | 29.3" | Very Low | $168,100 |
| 74 | Lancaster County | 29.3" | Relatively Moderate | $258,900 |
| 75 | Saunders County | 29.3" | Very Low | $241,100 |
| 76 | Saline County | 29.5" | Very Low | $180,700 |
| 77 | Cedar County | 29.6" | Very Low | $175,500 |
| 78 | Clay County | 29.8" | Relatively Low | $146,300 |
| 79 | Thurston County | 29.8" | Very Low | $105,100 |
| 80 | Butler County | 30.4" | Very Low | $165,700 |
| 81 | Hamilton County | 30.4" | Very Low | $238,700 |
| 82 | Cuming County | 30.8" | Relatively Low | $174,900 |
| 83 | Thayer County | 31.1" | Very Low | $106,200 |
| 84 | Gage County | 31.3" | Very Low | $167,100 |
| 85 | Otoe County | 32.2" | Very Low | $185,000 |
| 86 | Johnson County | 32.3" | Very Low | $131,500 |
| 87 | Pawnee County | 32.3" | Very Low | $74,800 |
| 88 | Nemaha County | 32.3" | Very Low | $125,100 |
| 89 | Jefferson County | 32.4" | Very Low | $117,600 |
| 90 | Douglas County | 33.2" | Relatively High | $245,800 |
| 91 | Sarpy County | 33.2" | Relatively Moderate | $287,600 |
| 92 | Cass County | 33.6" | Very Low | $247,200 |
| 93 | Richardson County | 34.7" | Very Low | $96,500 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Nebraska