ZIP 68826 vs ZIP 68628

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68826 (Central City, NE) and ZIP 68628 (Clarks, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68826 has a population of 3,955 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 68628 has 826 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 68826 reports a median household income of $74,583 against $58,438 in ZIP 68628, with per-capita income of $39,169 vs $34,254. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.2% in 68826 and 12.6% in 68628. Poverty rate reads 4.6% vs 12.2%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 1.5% — 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 $172,100 in 68826 versus $183,600 in 68628, with median rent of $678 and $792 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.0% vs 92.4%. 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.