ZIP 69033 vs ZIP 69045

This side-by-side compares ZIP 69033 (Imperial, NE) and ZIP 69045 (Wauneta, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 69033 has a population of 2,577 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 69045 has 975 at 1 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 69033 reports a median household income of $67,135 against $49,250 in ZIP 69045, with per-capita income of $42,303 vs $29,761. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.2% in 69033 and 18.5% in 69045. Poverty rate reads 6.4% vs 11.7%, and unemployment 1.5% 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 $171,300 in 69033 versus $108,900 in 69045, with median rent of $926 and $494 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.9% vs 67.9%. 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.