Find a Job You Really Want In
No one enjoys dealing with unproductive colleagues—those who offload their responsibilities onto others while still reaping the rewards. If you find yourself living in one of these Nebraska towns, you might want to reflect on your work ethic.
This isn’t about being unkind; rather, the culture of laziness can seep into workplaces, and most prefer to collaborate with motivated individuals. To shed light on this phenomenon, we analyzed data to identify the Nebraska towns that exemplify a lackadaisical approach to work.
Using the latest American Community Survey data, we evaluated various indicators associated with low productivity across cities in Nebraska. After analyzing the information, we compiled a list of the ten “Least Productive Places in Nebraska” for your consideration:
- Mccook
- North Platte
- Alliance
- Scottsbluff
- South Sioux City
- Nebraska City
- Crete
- Schuyler
- Beatrice
- Hastings
Continue reading to find out where the most unproductive towns are or skip to the end to see how your town ranks. Notably, Gretna stands out as the most industrious city in Nebraska.
How We Determined the Least Productive Places in the Cornhusker State
At Zippia, we rely on data to tackle tough questions. In this instance, we turned to the latest American Community Survey to uncover insights about productivity across Nebraska.
After reviewing numerous criteria, we focused on the following factors to gauge productivity levels in Nebraska cities:
- Lowest average hours worked
- Shortest commute times
- Fewest workers per household (labor force divided by the number of households)
- Highest unemployment rates
- Lowest percentages of adults with a college degree
Our hypothesis was that cities with low educational attainment, minimal work hours, and fewer contributing household members likely exhibit lower productivity.
We ranked 32 places in Nebraska with populations over 5,000 based on these criteria, creating an index that allowed us to crown the city with the lowest score as the “Least Productive Place in Nebraska.” Mccook emerged at the top of this list.
Check out the detailed chart below to learn more about the rankings of each city.
1. Mccook
Population: 7,670 College Educated: 17.6%
Unemployment Rate: 5.9%
2. North Platte
Population: 24,532 College Educated: 19.2%
Unemployment Rate: 5.4%
3. Alliance
Population: 8,501 College Educated: 15.4%
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%
4. Scottsbluff
Population: 14,998 College Educated: 22.5%
Unemployment Rate: 9.0%
5. South Sioux City
Population: 13,375 College Educated: 10.7%
Unemployment Rate: 9.3%
6. Nebraska City
Population: 7,279 College Educated: 19.8%
Unemployment Rate: 6.6%
7. Crete
Population: 7,055 College Educated: 14.4%
Unemployment Rate: 7.2%
8. Schuyler
Population: 6,195 College Educated: 8.1%
Unemployment Rate: 10.7%
9. Beatrice
Population: 12,183 College Educated: 21.5%
Unemployment Rate: 5.2%
10. Hastings
Population: 25,030 College Educated: 21.7%
Unemployment Rate: 7.3%
Slacking Your Way Off to the Bottom
As previously mentioned, identifying the least productive areas in Nebraska can be subjective. However, by examining educational attainment, work hours, and employment status, this list accurately reflects productivity levels.
Detailed List of the Least Productive Places in Nebraska
| City | Rank |
|---|---|
| McCook | 1 |
| North Platte | 2 |
| Alliance | 3 |
| Scottsbluff | 4 |
| South Sioux City | 5 |
| Nebraska City | 6 |
| Crete | 7 |
| Schuyler | 8 |
| Beatrice | 9 |
| Hastings | 10 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
