ZIP 68516 vs ZIP 68521

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68516 (Lincoln, NE) and ZIP 68521 (Lincoln, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68516 has a population of 38,956 at 790 people per square mile, while ZIP 68521 has 31,733 at 847 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 68516 reports a median household income of $100,821 against $67,483 in ZIP 68521, with per-capita income of $49,541 vs $35,106. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 54.7% in 68516 and 33.6% in 68521. Poverty rate reads 6.7% vs 13.5%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 3.2% — 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 $354,000 in 68516 versus $252,800 in 68521, with median rent of $1,261 and $1,231 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.3% vs 57.8%. 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.