AreaProfile

68521Lincoln, Nebraska

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 68521.

74
Area Score
Top 10% of 695 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 8% of 727 published ZIP areas77
GrowthTop 31% of 701 published ZIP areas61
Housing affordabilityTop 28% of 800 published ZIP areas83
Climate713th of 779 published ZIP areas57
Physical resilienceTop 23% of 800 published ZIP areas75
Access445th of 779 published ZIP areas95
Economic stabilityTop 31% of 800 published ZIP areas67
The quick read

68521 ranks in the top 8% of published ZIP profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.9% and median household income of $67,483.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published ZIP profiles, placing 68521 in the top 23% for physical resilience.

A major airport is 2 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
37,050
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$67,483
Bottom 43% nationally
Density
2,814/sq mi
13.2 sq mi of land
Median age
33.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Lincoln
Nebraska
Metro area
Lincoln, NE
Nearest major airport
LNK
2 mi · Lincoln
Median home value
$252,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 2.9% is lower than 98% of the 1,061 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment grew 0.4% over the past year, to 167,892 employed residents.

34% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 72% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,505$67,483Bottom 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,228$35,106Bottom 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate13.5%Top 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute20.1 minBottom 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher33.6%Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment167,892Bottom 40%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)3.0%Top 14%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.4%Top 23%June 2026
Labor force172,984Bottom 38%June 2026
Labor force participation72.7%Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$62,980Bottom 28%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$49,800Bottom 46%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.1%Bottom 48%June 2026
Unemployment rate2.9%Bottom 2%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202467k57k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $67,483 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Lincoln, NE
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,950$28,510
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers4,530$81,790
Registered Nurses4,200$87,530
Retail Salespersons4,080$30,990
General and Operations Managers3,680$92,780
Cashiers3,240$30,690

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Lincoln, NE, the city containing this ZIP code.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,231 takes 22% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.7 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
21.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,231
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$252,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.75Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate57.8%Bottom 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±61315,710Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$75$1,231Top 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,799$252,800Top 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.9%Top 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate3.9%Bottom 17%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
61/ 100
Top 31% of 701 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

At 6.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
1,911
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.5
Top 19% nationally
Year over year
−12%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
54.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Lincoln, NE, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 14°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 29.3 inches, including 26.0 inches of snow.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LINCOLN MUNI AP, 1.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation29.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall26.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low14°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing53°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

75 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, strong wind and hail.

Strong windElevated
TornadoElevated
HailHigh
Winter weatherModerate
WildfireModerate
LightningModerate
Ice stormModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, cold wave, drought, landslide, earthquake.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 2 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
LincolnLNK2 mi8,649 ft
Eppley AirfieldOMA53 mi9,502 ft
Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day FldSUX108 mi9,002 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
74
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

68521 vs Lincoln

How this ZIP area compares with Lincoln as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

68521
Lincoln
Median household income
$67,483
vs
$71,867
Per capita income
$35,106
vs
$39,672
Population density
2,814/sq mi
vs
2,916/sq mi
Median home value
$252,800
vs
$264,000
Median gross rent
$1,231
vs
$1,086
Homeownership rate
57.8%
vs
56.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher
33.6%
vs
41.8%
Poverty rate
13.5%
vs
12.7%
Median age
33.0
vs
33.4

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.