Best Places68665, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 68665, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
68665 ranks 7,821st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 68665
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.
68665's strengths and weaknesses
Where 68665 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Short commute17.8 minutes each way, better than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 68665 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 68665
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 68665 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,315, 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 68665's effective rate of 1.09%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 68665
68665 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 68665.
Who works in 68665, and how
Work in 68665 centers on retail trade and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 68665
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 68665.
What the weather is like in 68665, month by month
68665 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 24° | 16° |
| April | 64° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 65° | 50° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 68665
The nearest airport, Central Nebraska Regional, is about 50 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 131 miles away.
The best schools in and around 68665
Schools across 68665 average a B+, better than 78% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Riverside Elementary - SpaldingA+ · 75% proficient
- Riverside Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Wheeler Central Elementary #45D · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Riverside Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- West Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Wheeler Central HighB+ · 58% proficient
- West High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 68665 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
68665 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 68665 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 68665
Is 68665 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 68665 ranks 7,821st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, quiet, and walkability, and lowest on tree cover and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 68665 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $123,469. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $69,315 median income, cost of living beats 55% of zip codes.
Is 68665 safe?
Yes, 68665 is safer than 69% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $247 per resident a year.
Compare 68665 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 68665. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 68665 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.
68665 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 68665: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 68665: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 68665: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 68665: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
68665 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.