Best Places68943, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 68943, 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.
68943 ranks 11,080th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 68943
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.
68943's strengths and weaknesses
Where 68943 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Short commute17.8 minutes each way, better than 92% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 68943 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 68943
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 68943 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $103,009, 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 68943's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 68943
68943 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 68943.
Who works in 68943, and how
Work in 68943 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 68943
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 68943.
What the weather is like in 68943, month by month
68943 sees roughly 114 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 27° | 19° |
| April | 68° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 69° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 68943
The nearest airport, Central Nebraska Regional, is about 68 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 138 miles away.
The best schools in and around 68943
Schools across 68943 average a C+, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Thayer Central ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Deshler Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Superior Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pike Valley Jr HighD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Thayer Central High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Deshler High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Superior Sr High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 68943 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
68943 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 68943 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 68943
Is 68943 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 68943 ranks 11,080th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, a stable housing market, and what local pay buys, and lowest on internet speeds and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 68943 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $98,200. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $103,009 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 68943 safe?
68943 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $422 per resident a year.
Compare 68943 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 68943. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 68943 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.
68943 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 68943: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 68943: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 68943: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 68943: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
68943 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.