ZIP 68069 vs ZIP 68073

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68069 (Waterloo, NE) and ZIP 68073 (Yutan, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68069 has a population of 2,558 at 34 people per square mile, while ZIP 68073 has 1,960 at 18 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 68069 reports a median household income of $111,974 against $112,460 in ZIP 68073, with per-capita income of $78,248 vs $43,802. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.5% in 68069 and 36.6% in 68073. Poverty rate reads 3.8% vs 0.7%, and unemployment 8.4% vs 6.1% — 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 $365,100 in 68069 versus $263,400 in 68073, with median rent of $1,382 and $1,438 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.9% vs 84.0%. 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.