ZIP 68329 vs ZIP 68448

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68329 (Cook, NE) and ZIP 68448 (Talmage, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68329 has a population of 673 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 68448 has 399 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 68329 reports a median household income of $77,614 against $74,500 in ZIP 68448, with per-capita income of $41,722 vs $64,792. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.1% in 68329 and 31.8% in 68448. Poverty rate reads 8.3% vs 18.7%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 9.4% — 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 $169,300 in 68329 versus $115,900 in 68448, with median rent of $640 and $1,278 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.9% 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.