ZIP 68038 vs ZIP 68055

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68038 (Lyons, NE) and ZIP 68055 (Rosalie, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68038 has a population of 1,280 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 68055 has 341 at 3 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 68038 reports a median household income of $51,362 against $62,292 in ZIP 68055, with per-capita income of $34,390 vs $30,937. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.7% in 68038 and 31.2% in 68055. Poverty rate reads 13.2% vs 7.5%, and unemployment 1.3% vs 6.7% — 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 $117,700 in 68038 versus $48,900 in 68055, with median rent of — and $738 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.9% vs 83.2%. 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.