Best Places69354, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 69354, 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.
69354 ranks 20,926th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 69354
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.
69354's strengths and weaknesses
Where 69354 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 130 pleasant days a year, better than 81% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 69354 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 69354
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 69354 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,623, 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 69354's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 69354
69354 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 69354.
Who works in 69354, and how
Work in 69354 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 69354
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 69354.
What the weather is like in 69354, month by month
69354 sees roughly 130 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 23° | 11° |
| April | 61° | 43° | 29° |
| July | 89° | 71° | 55° |
| October | 64° | 44° | 28° |
Flying in and out of 69354
The nearest airport, Alliance Municipal, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 195 miles away.
The best schools in and around 69354
Schools across 69354 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hemingford Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Crawford Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Chadron IntermediateC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chadron Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Chadron Senior High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Crawford High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Hemingford High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 69354 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
69354 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 69354 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 69354
Is 69354 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 69354 ranks 20,926th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, state infrastructure, and civic engagement, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 69354 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $215,425. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $77,623 median income, cost of living beats 57% of zip codes.
Is 69354 safe?
69354 is safer than 25% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $413 per resident a year.
Compare 69354 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 69354. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 69354 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.
69354 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 69354: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 69354: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 69354: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 69354: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
69354 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.