ZIP 68770 vs ZIP 68785

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68770 (Ponca, NE) and ZIP 68785 (Waterbury, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68770 has a population of 1,552 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 68785 has 274 at 4 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 68770 reports a median household income of $71,607 against $113,750 in ZIP 68785, with per-capita income of $60,515 vs $37,320. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.6% in 68770 and 7.4% in 68785. Poverty rate reads 9.4% vs 2.6%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 0.8% — 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 $199,400 in 68770 versus $220,000 in 68785, with median rent of $717 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.4% vs 100.0%. 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.