ZIP 68901 vs ZIP 68954

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68901 (Hastings, NE) and ZIP 68954 (Inland, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68901 has a population of 26,354 at 74 people per square mile, while ZIP 68954 has 94 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 68901 reports a median household income of $66,585 against $45,893 in ZIP 68954, with per-capita income of $36,905 vs $23,453. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.6% in 68901 and 11.6% in 68954. Poverty rate reads 14.0% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 2.8% 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 $190,100 in 68901 versus — in 68954, with median rent of $858 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.6% vs 63.2%. 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.