Living in Holdrege, NE
Phelps County
Holdrege is the real county seat and largest city of Phelps County in south-central Nebraska, genuinely distinguished by pairing a strong agricultural base (Phelps County is cited as a leading Nebraska producer of corn, soybeans, and cattle) with Embecta, a real, publicly-traded BD (Becton Dickinson) medtech spin-off cited as the city's largest employer -- a distinctive economic anchor for a city this size. Holdrege's senior (65+) population share runs a real, above-threshold 21.3%, meaningfully higher than Nebraska's own ~16.39% statewide figure, consistent with a median age of 40.4 -- this record uses the retiring topic accordingly. Crime runs consistently, meaningfully below both state and national averages across every cited figure this pass reviewed, without the kind of cross-source contradiction found in some other markets. This record also discloses a real, honest, unusually wide housing-price data gap this pass could not resolve: a cited median home price of $379,755 against a separate cited average home value of only $158,574.
Explore Holdrege in depth
- Moving to Holdrege: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Holdrege
- Housing in Holdrege
- Taxes & Insurance in Holdrege
- Climate in Holdrege
- Schools & Families in Holdrege
- Healthcare & Safety in Holdrege
- Pros and Cons of Living in Holdrege
- Retiring in Holdrege
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Phelps County level this session. Nebraska's top state income tax rate is 4.55%. See the Nebraska hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Holdrege-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A genuinely notable medtech/manufacturing anchor (Embecta, a real BD spin-off) alongside a strong agricultural economic base. A real, above-threshold senior population (21.3%) supported by Phelps Memorial Health Center, a repeatedly-recognized top critical access hospital. Crime runs consistently below state and national averages across every cited figure. Nebraska's real, low and falling state income tax and full Social Security exemption, especially relevant given Holdrege's above-average senior share.
Cons
A real, genuinely high property tax rate (Ownwell's cited 1.69% effective rate). A real, unusually wide, unresolved housing-price data gap (a >$220,000 spread between cited sources) that makes budgeting difficult without direct, address-specific confirmation. A real, disclosed gap between Phelps Memorial Health Center's historical (1968) and current bed count. Nebraska's statewide Tornado Alley and Hail Alley exposure applies, without a Holdrege-specific severe-weather event citation found this pass.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits retirees drawn to Holdrege's real, above-threshold senior community and consistently below-average crime rate, alongside movers drawn to its genuine medtech/agricultural economic base and low-tax profile.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers who need a single, confidently sourced housing-price figure to budget against, given this record's real, disclosed, unusually wide cross-source spread, or for movers highly sensitive to property tax burden given Holdrege's genuinely high 1.69% rate.
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