ZIP 68717 vs ZIP 68723

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68717 (Belden, NE) and ZIP 68723 (Carroll, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68717 has a population of 198 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 68723 has 566 at 3 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 68717 reports a median household income of $65,919 against $74,512 in ZIP 68723, with per-capita income of $42,135 vs $37,391. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.2% in 68717 and 27.3% in 68723. Poverty rate reads 11.4% vs 2.5%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 0.3% — 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 $115,400 in 68717 versus $236,100 in 68723, with median rent of $729 and $883 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 46.7% vs 93.0%. 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.