ZIP 68438 vs ZIP 68404

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68438 (Sprague, NE) and ZIP 68404 (Martell, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68438 has a population of 142 at 564 people per square mile, while ZIP 68404 has 902 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 68438 reports a median household income of $81,250 against $112,643 in ZIP 68404, with per-capita income of $29,810 vs $37,146. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.4% in 68438 and 27.7% in 68404. Poverty rate reads 19.3% vs 9.0%, and unemployment 9.1% 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 $197,300 in 68438 versus $313,100 in 68404, with median rent of $1,607 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.8% vs 96.4%. 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.