Best Places68970, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 68970, 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.
68970 ranks 20,247th 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 68970
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.
68970's strengths and weaknesses
Where 68970 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Short commute19.0 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 68970 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Household income$54,068 median, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 68970
A household needs to earn about $23,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 68970 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,068, 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 68970's effective rate of 1.24%, 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 68970
68970 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 68970.
Who works in 68970, and how
Work in 68970 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 68970
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 68970.
What the weather is like in 68970, month by month
68970 sees roughly 104 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 68970
The nearest airport, Kearney Regional, is about 51 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 161 miles away.
The best schools in and around 68970
Schools across 68970 average a B−, better than 60% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Blue Hill Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Silver Lake Elem Sch-bladenB · 45% proficient
- Red Cloud Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Blue Hill High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Red Cloud High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Superior Sr High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 68970 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
68970 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 68970 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 68970
Is 68970 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 68970 ranks 20,247th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, a stable housing market, and walkability, and lowest on distance from a big city and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 68970 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $82,754. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $54,068 median income, cost of living beats 24% of zip codes.
Is 68970 safe?
68970 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $486 per resident a year.
Compare 68970 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 68970. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 68970 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.
68970 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 68970: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 68970: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 68970: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 68970: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
68970 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.