ZIP 68360 vs ZIP 68402

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68360 (Garland, NE) and ZIP 68402 (Malcolm, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68360 has a population of 501 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 68402 has 1,210 at 14 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 68360 reports a median household income of $72,000 against $123,000 in ZIP 68402, with per-capita income of $38,117 vs $55,192. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.9% in 68360 and 50.2% in 68402. Poverty rate reads 1.6% vs 6.0%, and unemployment 0.4% vs 1.2% — 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 $223,700 in 68360 versus $449,000 in 68402, with median rent of — and $915 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.1% vs 84.2%. 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.