ZIP 68787 vs ZIP 68784

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68787 (Wayne, NE) and ZIP 68784 (Wakefield, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68787 has a population of 6,647 at 18 people per square mile, while ZIP 68784 has 2,104 at 8 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 68787 reports a median household income of $60,275 against $62,216 in ZIP 68784, with per-capita income of $28,646 vs $28,024. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.9% in 68787 and 23.9% in 68784. Poverty rate reads 17.5% vs 5.6%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 2.8% — 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 $230,700 in 68787 versus $144,900 in 68784, with median rent of $792 and $725 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 48.7% vs 68.3%. 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.