Bellevue 4plexes: Buy a Fourplex and House Hack in Bellevue
Bellevue, Nebraska's third-largest city, is home to about 64,863 people, with a median household income of $85,462, a median gross rent of $1,226 a month, and a typical home value of $299,002. It is the oldest continuous town in Nebraska, incorporated in 1855, and today it is shaped above all by Offutt Air Force Base on its southern edge.
Bellevue by the Numbers
Bellevue began as a fur-trading post on the Missouri River bluffs — French Canadian trappers called the site Belle Vue, meaning beautiful view — and it stayed small until Offutt Air Force Base brought growth after World War II. About 64,863 people live here now, households earn a median of $85,462, and the typical home value is $299,002. The income, rent, and earnings rows in the table use the American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates, because Bellevue falls just below the 65,000-population line for 1-year publication.
| Population (Census Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025) | 64,863 |
|---|---|
| State capital | Lincoln |
| Median household income (ACS 2024 5-year, B19013) | $85,462 |
| Households earning under $50,000 (ACS 2024 5-year, B19001) | 26.3% |
| Households earning $50,000 to $99,999 (ACS 2024 5-year, B19001) | 32.2% |
| Households earning $100,000 to $199,999 (ACS 2024 5-year, B19001) | 32.6% |
| Households earning $200,000 or more (ACS 2024 5-year, B19001) | 8.9% |
| Median gross rent (ACS 2024 5-year, B25064) | $1,226 per month |
| Median earnings, all workers 16 and older (ACS 2024 5-year, B20017) | $46,406 |
| Typical home value (ZHVI, September 2026) | $299,002 |
The income mix is strong for a city this size: 26.3% of households earn under $50,000, 32.2% earn $50,000 to $99,999, 32.6% earn $100,000 to $199,999, and 8.9% earn $200,000 or more, with individual median earnings of $46,406. Military households and civilian base workers support the $1,226 median gross rent, but they also move on orders — a Bellevue fourplex owner should plan for turnover as a normal cost, not as a surprise.
Put rent and value together: a year of rent at the median ($1,226 a month) is 4.92% of the typical home value ($299,002). Treat that as a rough gauge of the rent-to-price relationship in Bellevue, not as income — expenses, vacancies, and taxes all reduce what an owner actually keeps.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates (tables B19001, B25064, B20017); Zillow Research ZHVI, September 2026.
Buying a 4plex in Bellevue
Bellevue's rental stock divides between the historic Main Street area, where buildings like the Fontenelle Bank date to the city's early commercial days, and the newer subdivisions that spread south and west toward the base. Proximity to Offutt is the strongest demand driver: service members value a short commute and a landlord who understands military moves, including deployment-related lease questions. A building near the base fills differently from one on the far north side, and the underwriting should reflect that.
Small-market arithmetic deserves respect here. With roughly 64,863 residents, Bellevue produces few fourplex sales in any given year, so an appraisal may lean on older or farther-away comps, and a rent set even slightly high can sit empty while the carrying costs run. Talk to a property manager who leases near Offutt before you set the asking rent, and hold a larger cash reserve than you would in Omaha — the low purchase price is the opportunity, and the thin comparable set is the risk that comes with it.
Buyer Help and Loans in Bellevue
Offutt's presence makes one loan question come first for many Bellevue buyers: do you qualify for VA? For eligible veterans, a VA loan on a 1-4 unit primary residence typically requires no down payment, and it is often the cheapest route to a fourplex here. If VA is not open to you, the next comparison is FHA at 3.5% down versus conventional at 5% down on an owner-occupied 2-4 unit home — all six programs, including USDA's single-family-only rules, are laid out on the Loan Types page.
The two GSE affordable programs work differently from FHA: HomeReady and Home Possible allow 5% down on a 2-4 unit home but only for buyers at or below 80% of the area median income. Bellevue's household mix, with 58.5% under $100,000, means a good share of local buyers could fit — but the qualifying figure is the area median for the property's location, not Bellevue's $85,462 median, so ask a lender to run the actual number before counting on either program. The Loan Types page has the program details to bring to that conversation.
Living in Bellevue
The photo above shows the Fontenelle Bank building at 2212 Main Street in Bellevue, seen from the east across Main. The bank building is part of the historic core of Nebraska's oldest town, where the Missouri River bluffs and the old commercial streets still set the character of the city.
A Bellevue landlord's tenants will include airmen and their families who may receive orders mid-lease, alongside residents whose families go back generations in Nebraska's oldest town. Treat a military move with the fairness the law and the situation require, keep the building in solid shape, and set rents from verified listings near the base and downtown. Returns here come from steady occupancy and modest prices, not from rapid appreciation.