ZIP 68342 vs ZIP 68440

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68342 (Diller, NE) and ZIP 68440 (Steele City, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68342 has a population of 530 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 68440 has 110 at 2 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 68342 reports a median household income of $75,000 against — in ZIP 68440, with per-capita income of $37,598 vs $48,336. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.3% in 68342 and 22.3% in 68440. Poverty rate reads 7.6% vs 11.0%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 0.0% — 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 68342 versus — in 68440, with median rent of $500 and $375 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.8% vs 83.3%. 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.