ZIP 68020 vs ZIP 68039

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68020 (Decatur, NE) and ZIP 68039 (Macy, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68020 has a population of 749 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 68039 has 1,421 at 13 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 68020 reports a median household income of $48,750 against $46,313 in ZIP 68039, with per-capita income of $28,622 vs $16,056. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.0% in 68020 and 11.0% in 68039. Poverty rate reads 21.6% vs 30.6%, and unemployment 6.1% vs 30.5% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $120,300 in 68020 versus $55,900 in 68039, with median rent of $617 and $666 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.6% vs 26.3%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.