Best Places68845, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 68845, 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.
68845 ranks 5,057th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 68845
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.
68845's strengths and weaknesses
Where 68845 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute14.6 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 68845 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 68845
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 68845 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,542, 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 68845's effective rate of 1.40%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 68845
68845 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 68845.
Who works in 68845, and how
Work in 68845 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 68845
68845 has more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 68845 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 68845, month by month
68845 sees roughly 129 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 66° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 67° | 52° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 68845
The nearest airport, Kearney Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 173 miles away.
The best schools in and around 68845
Schools across 68845 average a B+, better than 79% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Almena ElemA+ · 75% proficient
- Amherst Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Meadowlark Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Horizon Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Sunrise Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Kearney High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Elm Creek High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Amherst High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 68845 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
68845 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 68845 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 68845
Is 68845 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 68845 ranks 5,057th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and population health, and lowest on distance from a big city and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 68845 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $285,147. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $81,542 median income, cost of living beats 69% of zip codes.
Is 68845 safe?
Yes, 68845 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $215 per resident a year.
Compare 68845 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 68845. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 68845 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.
68845 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 68845: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 68845: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 68845: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 68845: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
68845 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.