ZIP 68876 vs ZIP 68840

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68876 (Shelton, NE) and ZIP 68840 (Gibbon, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68876 has a population of 1,545 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 68840 has 2,945 at 8 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 68876 reports a median household income of $82,207 against $76,394 in ZIP 68840, with per-capita income of $39,142 vs $36,040. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.8% in 68876 and 26.8% in 68840. Poverty rate reads 7.0% vs 5.2%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 4.1% — 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 $163,800 in 68876 versus $208,100 in 68840, with median rent of $1,060 and $848 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.5% vs 73.7%. 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.