Best Places69356, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 69356, 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.
69356 ranks 21,681st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 69356
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.
69356's strengths and weaknesses
Where 69356 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute18.1 minutes each way, better than 91% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 136 pleasant days a year, better than 84% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 70% of zip codes
Where 69356 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 69356
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 69356 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,184, 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 69356's effective rate of 1.16%, 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 69356
69356's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 69356.
Who works in 69356, and how
Work in 69356 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 69356
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 69356.
What the weather is like in 69356, month by month
69356 sees roughly 136 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 27° | 14° |
| April | 67° | 47° | 31° |
| July | 95° | 75° | 59° |
| October | 69° | 49° | 32° |
Flying in and out of 69356
The nearest airport, Scottsbluff/Western Nebraska Regional/Wm B Heilig Field, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 151 miles away.
The best schools in and around 69356
Schools across 69356 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Minatare SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Bayard Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- Minatare Elementary SchoolD− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bluffs Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Scottsbluff Senior High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Minatare High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Bayard Secondary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 69356 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
69356 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 69356 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 69356
Is 69356 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 69356 ranks 21,681st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on a weak job market and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 69356 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $180,959. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $65,184 median income, cost of living beats 41% of zip codes.
Is 69356 safe?
69356 is safer than 36% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $354 per resident a year.
Compare 69356 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 69356. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 69356 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.
69356 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 69356: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 69356: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 69356: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 69356: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
69356 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.