ZIP 68601 vs ZIP 68642

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68601 (Columbus, NE) and ZIP 68642 (Humphrey, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68601 has a population of 28,185 at 38 people per square mile, while ZIP 68642 has 1,721 at 5 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 68601 reports a median household income of $68,480 against $93,798 in ZIP 68642, with per-capita income of $36,313 vs $43,260. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.4% in 68601 and 23.8% in 68642. Poverty rate reads 10.5% vs 5.2%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 1.4% — 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 $221,900 in 68601 versus $266,400 in 68642, with median rent of $897 and $711 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.3% vs 87.9%. 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.