Best Places69146, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 69146, 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.
69146 ranks 25,290th 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 69146
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.
69146's strengths and weaknesses
Where 69146 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute15.6 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 69146 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 69146
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 69146 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $60,625, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 69146's effective rate of 1.21%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 69146
69146 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 69146.
Who works in 69146, and how
Work in 69146 centers on retail trade and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 69146
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 69146.
What the weather is like in 69146, month by month
69146 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 26° | 13° |
| April | 68° | 49° | 32° |
| July | 93° | 76° | 61° |
| October | 70° | 50° | 34° |
Flying in and out of 69146
The nearest airport, North Platte Regional/Lee Bird Field, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 182 miles away.
The best schools in and around 69146
Schools across 69146 average a B−, better than 61% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Prairie View SchoolB · 48% proficient
- So Platte Elem At Big SpringsD+ · 25% proficient
- Julesburg Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Ogallala High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- South Platte High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Julesburg High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 69146 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
69146 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 69146 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 69146
Is 69146 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 69146 ranks 25,290th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, 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 69146 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $248,400. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $60,625 median income, cost of living beats 26% of zip codes.
Is 69146 safe?
69146 is safer than 35% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $360 per resident a year.
Compare 69146 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 69146. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 69146 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.
69146 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 69146: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 69146: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 69146: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 69146: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
69146 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.