68849 ZIP Code
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ZIP code 68849 covers Kearney, Nebraska, with a population of about 1,347.
- Population
- 1,3476,127 per square mile
- Median age
- 19.619.1 points below the US average
- Time zone
- Central UTC-06:00observes daylight saving time
- Businesses
- 10
Where 68849 is
Kearney, Nebraska — the point the Postal Service gives for this ZIP code. A ZIP code is a set of delivery routes rather than an area, so this marks its centre, not its boundary.
People and households
American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| Population | 1,347 |
|---|---|
| Median age | 19.6 |
| Born outside the US | 5.2% |
| Speaks a language other than English at home | 17.7% |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 73.1% |
| Black (non-Hispanic) | 0.8% |
| Asian (non-Hispanic) | 5.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 19.5% |
| Veterans | 0% |
Income and poverty
American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| Income per person | $6,063 |
|---|
Work, commuting and education
American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| Unemployment rate | 11.9% |
|---|---|
| Works from home | 2% |
| Drives to work alone | 80.7% |
| Takes public transport | 0% |
| Commutes 45 minutes or more | 4.6% |
Health
CDC PLACES 2025 release, model-based estimates. These are modelled small-area estimates for adults, not counts of diagnosed cases.
| Obesity | 28.3% 5.1 pts below the national average of 33.4% |
|---|---|
| Diagnosed diabetes | 1.5% 10.5 pts below the national average of 12% |
| Currently smokes | 7.1% 6.1 pts below the national average of 13.2% |
| High blood pressure | 10.1% 24 pts below the national average of 34.1% |
| Fair or poor general health | 12.7% 7.6 pts below the national average of 20.3% |
| No health insurance (18–64) | 10.8% 0.5 pts below the national average of 11.3% |
| Depression | 24.4% 2.5 pts above the national average of 21.9% |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 20.7% 4.7 pts below the national average of 25.4% |
| Arthritis | 4.1% 21 pts below the national average of 25.1% |
| Binge drinking | 24.2% 8.2 pts above the national average of 16% |
| Taking blood pressure medication | 21% 53.7 pts below the national average of 74.7% |
| Cancer (non-skin) | 0.7% 7 pts below the national average of 7.7% |
| Current asthma | 10.9% 0.5 pts above the national average of 10.4% |
| Coronary heart disease | 0.8% 5.4 pts below the national average of 6.2% |
| Routine check-up in past year | 66.1% 10.6 pts below the national average of 76.7% |
| Cholesterol screening | 59.1% 26.8 pts below the national average of 85.9% |
| Cognitive disability | 21% 6.2 pts above the national average of 14.8% |
| Colorectal screening | 45% 19.3 pts below the national average of 64.3% |
| COPD | 1.9% 4.7 pts below the national average of 6.6% |
| Visited a dentist | 65.3% 4 pts above the national average of 61.3% |
| Any disability | 27.4% 3.3 pts below the national average of 30.7% |
| Lacks emotional support | 24.2% 0.6 pts below the national average of 24.8% |
| Food insecurity | 20.1% 3 pts above the national average of 17.1% |
| Received food stamps | 11.4% 2.9 pts below the national average of 14.3% |
| Hearing disability | 2.4% 4.3 pts below the national average of 6.7% |
| High cholesterol | 11.1% 25.1 pts below the national average of 36.2% |
| Housing insecurity | 11.6% 2.2 pts below the national average of 13.8% |
| Independent living disability | 9.6% 1.2 pts above the national average of 8.4% |
| Lacks transport | 13.1% 3.9 pts above the national average of 9.2% |
| Loneliness | 43.1% 8.7 pts above the national average of 34.4% |
| Mammography use | 58.3% 17.6 pts below the national average of 75.9% |
| Poor mental health (14+ days) | 23.8% 7 pts above the national average of 16.8% |
| Mobility disability | 3% 11 pts below the national average of 14% |
| Poor physical health (14+ days) | 8.1% 5.4 pts below the national average of 13.5% |
| Self-care disability | 1.3% 2.7 pts below the national average of 4% |
| Utility shut-off threat | 7.2% 1.6 pts below the national average of 8.8% |
| Sleeps under 7 hours | 29.1% 7.3 pts below the national average of 36.4% |
| Stroke | 0.5% 2.9 pts below the national average of 3.4% |
| Vision disability | 4.2% 1.4 pts below the national average of 5.6% |
Business and employment
Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2022
| Business establishments | 10 |
|---|---|
| People employed | 118 |
| Annual payroll | $1,686,000 |
Natural hazard risk
FEMA National Risk Index, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data — the NRI is not published per ZIP.
| Overall risk | Higher than 59.5% of US census tracts |
|---|---|
| FEMA rating | Relatively Low to Relatively Moderate across the 2 census tracts this ZIP code covers |
| Expected annual loss | 68.7 out of 100 |
| Community resilience | 58.4 out of 100 |
By hazard
Score is out of 100 and is the area-weighted average across the census tracts this ZIP code covers. The rating beside it is the highest any one of those tracts carries.
| Hail | 99.2Very High at its worst in this ZIP code |
|---|---|
| Strong wind | 97.3Very High at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Lightning | 96.2Very High at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Ice storm | 92.1Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Winter weather | 90.1Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Tornado | 86.2Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Drought | 72.5Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Heat wave | 65Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Wildfire | 46.7Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Cold wave | 40.1Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| River flooding | 28.9Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Landslide | 19Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Earthquake | 11.4Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
Compared with Nebraska and the United States
State and national columns are figures for those areas, not for this ZIP code. American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| This ZIP | Nebraska | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | — | $74,985 | $78,538 |
| Income per person | $6,063 | $40,637 | $43,289 |
| Poverty rate | — | 10.3% | 12.4% |
| Median home value | — | $223,800 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | — | $1,035 | $1,348 |
| Homeownership | — | 66.5% | 65% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | — | 34.1% | 35% |
| Unemployment rate | 11.9% | 3% | 5.2% |
| Works from home | 2% | 10% | 13.5% |
| Born outside the US | 5.2% | 7.7% | 13.9% |
| Median age | 19.6 | 37.1 | 38.7 |
Climate
NOAA US Climate Normals 1991-2020, from the nearest weather station with a full year of records. The station and its distance are named above, because a station forty kilometres away describes somewhere else.
| Weather station | KEARNEY 4 NE, NE US14.7 km away |
|---|---|
| Rain in a year | 26 in |
| Snow in a year | 22 in |
Average high and low by month
| January | 35.9°F / 13.8°F0.51 in rain, 3.7 in snow |
|---|---|
| February | 39.7°F / 16.5°F0.59 in rain, 5.6 in snow |
| March | 51.4°F / 25.2°F1.46 in rain, 3.5 in snow |
| April | 61.6°F / 35.6°F2.68 in rain, 1.9 in snow |
| May | 71.5°F / 47.4°F4.4 in rain, 0.1 in snow |
| June | 82.3°F / 58.5°F3.9 in rain |
| July | 86.6°F / 63°F3.36 in rain |
| August | 84.4°F / 60.9°F3.01 in rain |
| September | 77.9°F / 51.1°F1.84 in rain |
| October | 64.9°F / 37.8°F2.13 in rain, 0.8 in snow |
| November | 50.5°F / 25.3°F1 in rain, 2.8 in snow |
| December | 38.2°F / 16.6°F0.68 in rain, 3.4 in snow |
Access to food
USDA Food Access Research Atlas, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Each figure is the share of the ZIP code's land area that falls in a tract carrying that flag.
| Low income and far from a supermarket | 94% of this ZIP code's area |
|---|---|
| Far from a supermarket | 100% of this ZIP code's area |
| No vehicle and far from a supermarket | 94% of this ZIP code's area |
School districts
NCES Geographic Relationship File 2025, which states the association between each district and each ZIP code tabulation area directly. Elementary and secondary districts can cover the same ground, so shares need not total 100%.
| Kearney Public Schools | 100% of this ZIP code's land area |
|---|
Community and walkability
CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 and the EPA National Walkability Index, both estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Vulnerability figures are national percentile ranks, not measurements.
| Overall social vulnerability | 68more vulnerable than 68% of US census tracts |
|---|---|
| Socioeconomic status | 72more vulnerable than 72% of US census tracts |
| Household characteristics | 22more vulnerable than 22% of US census tracts |
| Racial and ethnic minority status | 39more vulnerable than 39% of US census tracts |
| Housing type and transport | 85more vulnerable than 85% of US census tracts |
| Walkability | 8.7 out of 20Below average |
Nearby ZIP codes
The closest ZIP codes by centre point, which is not the same as sharing a border.
| 68870 Riverdale, NE | 7.3 km away |
|---|---|
| 68845 Kearney, NE | 11.9 km away |
| 68847 Kearney, NE | 15.1 km away |
| 68866 Pleasanton, NE | 15.4 km away |
| 68812 Amherst, NE | 15.7 km away |
| 68848 Kearney, NE | 18.2 km away |
| 68840 Gibbon, NE | 21.9 km away |
| 68861 Odessa, NE | 22.5 km away |
Location, counties and time zone
County shares from Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files. Time zone from the USDOT National Transportation Atlas, which renders the boundaries written into 49 CFR Part 71.
| Buffalo County | 100% of this ZIP code's land area |
|---|---|
| Time zone | Central (UTC-06:00 standard) |
| Daylight saving time | Observed |
| Land area | 0.22 sq mi |
| Population density | 6,127 people per sq mi |
| Latitude, longitude | 40.8497, -99.0741 |
Figures are published for this ZIP code or its Census tabulation area unless a section says otherwise. Estimates whose margin of error made them unreliable are omitted rather than shown. Sources: US Census Bureau, CDC, IRS.