ZIP 68862 vs ZIP 68815

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68862 (Ord, NE) and ZIP 68815 (Arcadia, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68862 has a population of 3,007 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 68815 has 596 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 68862 reports a median household income of $60,321 against $69,808 in ZIP 68815, with per-capita income of $38,678 vs $39,916. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.6% in 68862 and 23.0% in 68815. Poverty rate reads 9.9% vs 6.4%, and unemployment 0.3% vs 0.0% — 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 $163,100 in 68862 versus $161,600 in 68815, with median rent of $623 and $675 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.1% vs 74.8%. 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.