ZIP 68838 vs ZIP 68820

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68838 (Farwell, NE) and ZIP 68820 (Boelus, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68838 has a population of 301 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 68820 has 391 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 68838 reports a median household income of $103,750 against $82,212 in ZIP 68820, with per-capita income of $46,565 vs $49,920. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.3% in 68838 and 25.6% in 68820. Poverty rate reads 4.0% vs 5.2%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 1.4% — 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 $156,300 in 68838 versus $114,200 in 68820, with median rent of $580 and $675 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.0% vs 83.7%. 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.