ZIP 68309 vs ZIP 68466

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68309 (Barneston, NE) and ZIP 68466 (Wymore, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68309 has a population of 121 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 68466 has 1,861 at 7 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 68309 reports a median household income of $49,583 against $61,574 in ZIP 68466, with per-capita income of $24,417 vs $34,623. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 1.0% in 68309 and 14.7% in 68466. Poverty rate reads 11.1% vs 10.1%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.9% — 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 — in 68309 versus $87,300 in 68466, with median rent of — and $660 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.5% vs 80.3%. 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.