ZIP 68651 vs ZIP 68666

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68651 (Osceola, NE) and ZIP 68666 (Stromsburg, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68651 has a population of 1,470 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 68666 has 1,611 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 68651 reports a median household income of $78,487 against $63,529 in ZIP 68666, with per-capita income of $36,946 vs $36,098. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.9% in 68651 and 21.4% in 68666. Poverty rate reads 12.6% vs 8.5%, and unemployment 1.5% vs 0.1% — 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 $191,300 in 68651 versus $177,200 in 68666, with median rent of $528 and $896 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.0% vs 76.1%. 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.