ZIP 68870 vs ZIP 68845

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68870 (Riverdale, NE) and ZIP 68845 (Kearney, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68870 has a population of 439 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 68845 has 19,523 at 68 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 68870 reports a median household income of $87,159 against $76,978 in ZIP 68845, with per-capita income of $31,647 vs $42,181. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.2% in 68870 and 41.2% in 68845. Poverty rate reads 1.6% vs 9.2%, and unemployment 1.2% vs 2.3% — 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 $222,200 in 68870 versus $282,000 in 68845, with median rent of — and $931 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.7% vs 59.2%. 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.