ZIP 68812 vs ZIP 68858

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68812 (Amherst, NE) and ZIP 68858 (Miller, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68812 has a population of 785 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 68858 has 266 at 2 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 68812 reports a median household income of $69,808 against $82,083 in ZIP 68858, with per-capita income of $31,410 vs $34,988. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.7% in 68812 and 36.6% in 68858. Poverty rate reads 2.6% vs 4.9%, and unemployment 1.7% vs 3.0% — 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 $229,400 in 68812 versus $190,600 in 68858, with median rent of $672 and $925 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.5% vs 84.6%. 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.