Best Places69027, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 69027, 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.
69027 ranks 19,823rd 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 69027
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.
69027's strengths and weaknesses
Where 69027 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute16.6 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 69027 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 69027
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 69027 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,096, 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 69027's effective rate of 1.01%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 69027
69027 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 69027.
Who works in 69027, and how
Work in 69027 centers on agriculture & forestry and wholesale trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 69027
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 69027.
What the weather is like in 69027, month by month
69027 sees roughly 130 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 27° | 15° |
| April | 68° | 49° | 33° |
| July | 94° | 76° | 61° |
| October | 70° | 51° | 35° |
Flying in and out of 69027
The nearest airport, North Platte Regional/Lee Bird Field, is about 65 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 170 miles away.
The best schools in and around 69027
Schools across 69027 average a C+, better than 51% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Chase County Elementary SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Palisade Attendance CenterB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wauneta Palisade Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Chase County High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Wauneta-palisade High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 69027 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
69027 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 69027 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 69027
Is 69027 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 69027 ranks 19,823rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and clean air, 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 69027 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $153,376. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $56,096 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 69027 safe?
69027 is safer than 36% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $353 per resident a year.
Compare 69027 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 69027. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 69027 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.
69027 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 69027: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 69027: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 69027: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 69027: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
69027 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.