ZIP 68443 vs ZIP 68344

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68443 (Sterling, NE) and ZIP 68344 (Douglas, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68443 has a population of 1,047 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 68344 has 441 at 4 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 68443 reports a median household income of $67,969 against $88,942 in ZIP 68344, with per-capita income of $30,881 vs $42,957. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.4% in 68443 and 23.5% in 68344. Poverty rate reads 8.5% vs 3.7%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 11.1% — 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 $174,000 in 68443 versus $177,800 in 68344, with median rent of $812 and $725 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.1% vs 97.0%. 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.