ZIP 68062 vs ZIP 68733

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68062 (Thurston, NE) and ZIP 68733 (Emerson, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68062 has a population of 311 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 68733 has 1,286 at 5 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 68062 reports a median household income of $72,292 against $64,479 in ZIP 68733, with per-capita income of $39,184 vs $33,208. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.2% in 68062 and 13.8% in 68733. Poverty rate reads 2.6% vs 13.1%, and unemployment 1.4% vs 3.8% — 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 $131,300 in 68062 versus $132,600 in 68733, with median rent of $663 and $702 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.2% vs 72.7%. 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.