ZIP Code 68849 — Kearney city, NE Demographics & Data

ZIP code 68849 covers Kearney, NE in Buffalo County with a population of about 1,347.

At a glance, the area shows median age of 19.6 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.

Kearney, NE sits in a university / college context (near university of nebraska at kearney (0.6 mi)). Expect stronger interest in student housing, rentals, walkability, transit, and a younger adult age mix versus typical suburban ZIPs.

On socioeconomic markers, US5 shows a unemployment rate near 11.9%.

Labor and commute patterns include leading industry context around Education, Retail trade, and Healthcare; about 2.0% of workers reporting work-from-home (about 13.2 points below the U.S. share (15.2%)); a mean commute of about 180.0 minutes (U.S. average near 26.8).

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 86 for ZIP 68849 (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.