Best Places68901, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 68901, 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.
68901 ranks 11,227th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 68901
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.
68901's strengths and weaknesses
Where 68901 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute13.9 minutes each way, better than 98% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 68901 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 68901
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 68901 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,431, 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 68901's effective rate of 1.38%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 68901
68901's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 68901.
Who works in 68901, and how
Work in 68901 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 68901
68901 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 79% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 68901 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 68901, month by month
68901 sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 66° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 68901
The nearest airport, Central Nebraska Regional, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around 68901
Schools across 68901 average a B−, better than 57% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Adams Central Elementary SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- Doniphan-trumbull ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Blue Hill Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hastings Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Blue Hill High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Adams Central Jr-sr High SchB+ · 57% proficient
- Doniphan-trumbull SecondaryB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 68901 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
68901 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 68901 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 68901 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 5% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 68901
Is 68901 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 68901 ranks 11,227th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and cell coverage, and lowest on noise 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 68901 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $200,548. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $74,431 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 68901 safe?
Yes, 68901 is safer than 63% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $284 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 68901?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 19. That works out to about 109 pleasant days a year, more than 69% of zip codes.
Is 68901 good for families?
Schools beat 57% of zip codes, crime safety beats 63%, and childcare runs $848 a month.
Compare 68901 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 68901. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 68901 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.
68901 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 68901: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 68901: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 68901: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 68901: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
68901 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.