Buffalo County Economic Pulse | April 2025

What's the economic pulse in Buffalo County right now? We'll break it down for you in our monthly Economic Pulse report.

This interactive report is designed to offer valuable insights into the economic health and trends within our Kearney and Buffalo County, empowering businesses, policymakers, and residents to stay informed and make data-driven decisions.

Key Takeaways:

• Unemployment Rate: While potentially a bit ironic, it's good to see a year-over-year increase in the county's unemployment rate. Typically, a healthy rate ranges between 4% and 6%.
• Building Permits: Although building permits weren't great in 2024, it's encouraging to see a slight increase in March 2025 compared to the previous year. Setting politics aside, I'm quite confident that the current and planned tariffs will at a minimum delay many projects, at least in the private sector. 
• Enplanements: Enplanements are the rockstars of our inaugural edition of the Pulse, boasting a jaw-dropping year-over-year increase of 94% in March alone. Year-to-date numbers have nearly doubled compared to this time in 2024, and we expect this trend to keep soaring. This surge is a direct result of the City’s renewed partnership with United, with flights operated by SkyWest. This bodes well for the future of Kearney and our travel industry.
• Housing Sales: While there are positive aspects to report this month, we must also face the music. March home sales were down 39%, and year-to-date sales have dropped by 31%. This decline isn't due to a lack of homebuyers; not even close. Kearney’s inventory of available homes, especially those sought by first-time buyers in a college town with major employers in manufacturing, education, and healthcare, is nearly non-existent. Of the eight homes currently listed for sale in Kearney in the $250-$350k range, only two have been on the market for less than 100 days. Our excellent amenities, employers, and service providers aren’t the only reason that our daily population swells past 50,000; it's also the critical shortage of housing. This shortage underscores the urgent need for additional housing development.

April 2025 BC Economic Pulse by Development Council for Buffalo County