ZIP Code 68845 — Kearney city, NE Demographics & Data

ZIP code 68845 covers Kearney, NE in Buffalo County with a population of about 21,012.

At a glance, the area shows median age of 33.1 versus a U.S. median of about 38.9.

It sits in telephone area code 308; U.S. House district NE-3; the LINCOLN & HSTNGS - KRNY media market.

Median household income in ZIP 68845 is about $75,350 — about even with the U.S. median ($75,149).

On socioeconomic markers, US5 shows a poverty rate of 11.1%; unemployment rate near 2.5%; 40.9% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher (about 7.2 points above the national share (33.7%)).

Labor and commute patterns include leading industry context around Healthcare, Retail trade, and Manufacturing; about 4.3% of workers reporting work-from-home (about 10.9 points below the U.S. share (15.2%)); a mean commute of about 180.0 minutes (U.S. average near 26.8).

Median home value is about $274,200 — about 21% below the U.S. median home value ($348,079).

Housing tenure and rents show median gross rent around $770 (about 34% below the U.S. median rent ($1,163)), and owner-occupancy near 57.6% (about 7.8 points below the national owner-occupancy rate (65.4%)).

To comfortably buy a median-priced home in ZIP 68845 in Kearney, NE, a household would need roughly $75,000 in annual income under a 20% down, 30-year loan at 6.8% (illustrative), keeping housing costs near 28% of income. Estimated monthly PITI is about $1,761. That is roughly in line with the local median household income ($75,350). Rates, taxes, insurance, and HOA fees vary — treat this as a planning estimate, not a lender quote.

FEMA’s National Risk Index rates natural-hazard risk for Kearney city, NE as Relatively Low (composite score 66.0), which is near the middle of the national distribution. The strongest component scores on US5 are wildfire (74.3) and flood (50.8). These scores are county-linked NRI values published for planning context — all ZIP codes in the same county share the same composite score on US5. Useful when comparing insurance and disaster exposure across areas, not a substitute for a parcel-level flood or fire determination.

Climate normals for Kearney city, NE show little to no average snow and around 25.6 inches of annual precipitation.

IRS migration statistics show a net inflow of about 1,342 for ZIP 68845 (Kearney city, NE) on US5’s published series — a signal of people/tax filers moving in relative to those leaving. Inflows often track job growth, housing demand, or lifestyle migration; treat the figure as a directional indicator rather than a precise headcount.