Best Places68448, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 68448, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
68448 ranks 21,354th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 68448
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
68448's strengths and weaknesses
Where 68448 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute15.4 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 68448 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 68448
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 68448 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,466, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 68448's effective rate of 1.32%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 68448
68448 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 68448.
Who works in 68448, and how
Work in 68448 centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 97%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 68448
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 68448.
What the weather is like in 68448, month by month
68448 sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 66° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 68448
The nearest airport, Lincoln, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 53 miles away.
The best schools in and around 68448
Schools across 68448 average a B, better than 65% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Elementary School At JohnsonA · 70% proficient
- Elementary School At SyracuseB+ · 55% proficient
- Marnie Simons Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middle School At SyracuseA · 62% proficient
- Hamburg Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Nebraska City Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- High School At JohnsonA · 70% proficient
- Sidney High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- High School At SyracuseA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 68448 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
68448 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 68448 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 68448
Is 68448 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 68448 ranks 21,354th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on the weather and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 68448 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,265. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $73,466 median income, cost of living beats 58% of zip codes.
Is 68448 safe?
68448 is safer than 17% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $492 per resident a year.
Compare 68448 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 68448. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 68448 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
68448 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 68448: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 68448: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 68448: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 68448: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
68448 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.