ZIP 68858 vs ZIP 68812

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