ZIP 68784 vs ZIP 68770

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68784 (Wakefield, NE) and ZIP 68770 (Ponca, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68784 has a population of 2,104 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 68770 has 1,552 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 68784 reports a median household income of $62,216 against $71,607 in ZIP 68770, with per-capita income of $28,024 vs $60,515. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.9% in 68784 and 25.6% in 68770. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 9.4%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 2.1% — 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 $144,900 in 68784 versus $199,400 in 68770, with median rent of $725 and $717 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.3% vs 75.4%. 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.