ZIP 68727 vs ZIP 68717

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68727 (Coleridge, NE) and ZIP 68717 (Belden, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68727 has a population of 730 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 68717 has 198 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 68727 reports a median household income of $53,664 against $65,919 in ZIP 68717, with per-capita income of $31,992 vs $42,135. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.6% in 68727 and 18.2% in 68717. Poverty rate reads 10.8% vs 11.4%, and unemployment 0.8% vs 0.0% — 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 $98,300 in 68727 versus $115,400 in 68717, with median rent of $642 and $729 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.3% vs 46.7%. 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.