ZIP 68960 vs ZIP 68971

This side-by-side compares ZIP 68960 (Naponee, NE) and ZIP 68971 (Republican City, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 68960 has a population of 183 at 1 people per square mile, while ZIP 68971 has 458 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 68960 reports a median household income of $85,278 against $64,375 in ZIP 68971, with per-capita income of $36,270 vs $57,346. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.9% in 68960 and 22.1% in 68971. Poverty rate reads 9.6% vs 5.9%, and unemployment 0.0% 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 $55,700 in 68960 versus $177,100 in 68971, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.1% vs 91.8%. 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.