Best Places69038, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 69038, 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.
69038 ranks 13,561st 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 69038
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.
69038's strengths and weaknesses
Where 69038 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 87% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 128 pleasant days a year, better than 80% of zip codes
Where 69038 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 69038
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 69038 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,825, 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 69038's effective rate of 1.45%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 69038
69038 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 69038.
Who works in 69038, and how
Work in 69038 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 69038
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 69038.
What the weather is like in 69038, month by month
69038 sees roughly 128 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 69° | 51° | 37° |
| July | 93° | 77° | 65° |
| October | 70° | 52° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 69038
The nearest airport, North Platte Regional/Lee Bird Field, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 219 miles away.
The best schools in and around 69038
Schools across 69038 average a B, better than 63% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Medicine Valley ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Hayes Center Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Maywood Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Maywood High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Medicine Valley Jr-sr High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Hayes Center Secondary SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 69038 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
69038 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 69038 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 69038
Is 69038 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 69038 ranks 13,561st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, quiet, and clean air, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 69038 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,158. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $68,825 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 69038 safe?
69038 is safer than 53% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $295 per resident a year.
Compare 69038 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 69038. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 69038 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.
69038 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 69038: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 69038: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 69038: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 69038: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
69038 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.