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ZIP Code68870

Riverdale, NE

Buffalo County · Nebraska · United States
Home to 516 people across 44.27 square miles.

CentralOwner-majority13 ZIPs in county

At a glance

68870 by the numbers

Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.

Population
516
±116 · bottom 25% nationally
Median household income
$83,375
US median $70,109 · 69th pctile
Median home value
$217,000
US median $207,500 · 53th pctile
Median age
33.9
US median 42 years
Population density
12/mi²
bottom 25% most dense
Land area
44.27 mi²
negligible water area

Location

Where 68870 is

40.8453, -99.158364 · Census ZCTA internal pointOpen larger map →
Coordinates40.8453, -99.158364
Time zoneAmerica/Chicago
CountyBuffalo County
StateNebraska (NE)
Land area44.27 mi²
Coordinate sourceCensus ZCTA internal point

Local time

America/Chicago

—:—:—

Current weather

Live from the National Weather Service

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Distance to major cities

Straight-line, computed from coordinates

Denver, CO316.6 mi
Dallas, TX572.5 mi
Chicago, IL601.6 mi
San Antonio, TX790.0 mi

People

Who lives in 68870

516 residents in 173 households, averaging 2.98 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 31.8% of residents, and 75.1% of households are families.

Age distribution

Share of residents by age band

Under 1831.8%
18-247.8%
25-3412.2%
35-4414.9%
45-548.9%
55-649.3%
65+15.1%

Households

Composition and size

Total households173
Average household size2.98
Family households75.1%
Living alone18.5%
Median age33.9 years
Households with internet97.1%

Race & ethnicity

Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.

White97.1%
Asian0.2%
Native American0.6%
Other1.4%
Two or more0.8%
Hispanic / Latino5.6%

Income & work

What people earn in 68870

The median household here earns $83,375 a year, above the US median of $70,109, which puts 68870 ahead of 69% of American ZIP codes. 2.7% of residents live below the poverty line.

Compared to the US

This ZIP against the national median

Median household income$83,375
LowestHighest
Higher than 69% of all US ZIP codes.
Median household income$83,375 ±$4,257
Per capita income$32,003
Poverty rate2.7%
Unemployment rate1.1%
Labor force participation71.7%

Household income distribution

Share of households in each bracket

<$25k5.2%
$25-50k12.7%
$50-75k23.1%
$75-100k23.7%
$100-150k20.2%
$150-200k8.1%
$200k+6.9%

Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 33.3% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 96.5% finished high school.

Housing

Homes and rent in 68870

A typical home is valued at $217,000, and median rent runs $1,125 a month. This is an owner-majority area — 88.4% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1985.

Costs

Typical values

Median home value$217,000
Median gross rent$1,125/mo
Median year built1985
Housing units213
Vacancy rate18.8%

Own vs. rent

Of 173 occupied units

Owner-occupied88.4%
Renter-occupied11.6%
Owner households153
Renter households20

Building types

Units by structure size

Single family84.0%
20+ units16.0%

Getting to work

How 68870 commutes

82.3% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 20.9 minutes.

Mode of transport

Workers 16 and older

Drove alone82.3%
Carpooled5.4%
Walked0.8%
Worked from home10.0%

Travel time

Mean commute 20.9 minutes

<10 min9.8%
10-1945.7%
20-2934.2%
30-446.0%
45-591.3%
60+3.0%

Overview

Understanding ZIP code 68870

ZIP code 68870 is assigned to Riverdale, NE, and falls within Buffalo County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 516 people live inside it.

At 12 residents per square mile spread over 44.27 square miles, 68870 reads as a rural area. It is a sparsely populated postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.

Household earnings track close to the national picture. The median of $83,375 puts 68870 near the middle of the pack, ahead of 69% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.

Living here

What life in Riverdale looks like

Housing in 68870 costs close to the national median. A typical home is valued at $217,000 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $1,125 a month. Ownership dominates: 88.4% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, which usually signals an established residential area with relatively low turnover.

The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 84.0% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1985, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.

The population skews younger than the country as a whole, with a median age of 33.9 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.98 people, and 75.1% are family households.

Getting to work takes 20.9 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 82.3% of workers.

Where to stay

Where to stay in Riverdale, NE

68870 covers a rural area, and accommodation within the postal code itself is likely to be sparse — perhaps a country inn, a lodge or a vacation rental rather than a conventional hotel. Widening the search radius is usually the practical approach, and it also opens up more availability at short notice.

Median rent in 68870 is $1,125 a month, which sits in the middle of the national range; accommodation pricing locally tends to be similarly mid-market. For reference, Denver, CO is about 316.6 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.

Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.

Book a Hotel →

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Practical uses

What ZIP code 68870 is used for

Beyond addressing mail, 68870 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.

For anyone weighing a move, 68870 offers a compact profile of Riverdale: 516 residents, a median household income of $83,375, 33.3% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 1.1%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.

One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 68870 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Riverdale may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.

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Questions

Common questions about 68870

What city is ZIP code 68870 in?
68870 serves Riverdale, Nebraska, in Buffalo County, United States.
What is the population of 68870?
About 516 people live in ZIP code 68870, according to the US Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The margin of error on that figure is ±116. That works out to roughly 12 people per square mile.
What is the average income in 68870?
The median household income in 68870 is $83,375 per year, compared with a US median of $70,109. Per capita income is $32,003. Median income is more representative than an average because it isn't skewed by a small number of very high earners.
How expensive is housing in 68870?
The median home value is $217,000 and median gross rent is $1,125 a month. 88.4% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
Is 68870 a good place to live?
That depends on what you're looking for, but here are the facts: 33.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is 1.1%, and the median age is 33.9. The average commute is 20.9 minutes. We publish the numbers and let you weigh them.
What time zone is 68870 in?
68870 observes Central Time (America/Chicago). This zone observes daylight saving time.
How big is ZIP code 68870?
ZIP code 68870 covers 44.27 square miles of land, per the US Census Bureau's 2023 Gazetteer files.
Is 68870 urban, suburban or rural?
By population density, 68870 reads as a rural area. It holds 12 people per square mile across 44.27 square miles of land. For reference, densities above 10,000 per square mile generally indicate an urban core, 1,000–3,000 is typically suburban, and under 200 is rural. These are rules of thumb rather than official designations — the Census Bureau classifies urban and rural areas by census block, not by ZIP code.
How much is rent in 68870?
Median gross rent in 68870 is $1,125 a month, according to the American Community Survey. Gross rent includes contract rent plus the estimated cost of utilities and fuels, so it is closer to what a tenant actually pays than a headline rent figure. Of 173 occupied homes here, 20 are rented.
What is the commute like from 68870?
The average one-way commute from 68870 takes about 20.9 minutes. The most common way to travel is drove alone, used by 82.3% of workers aged 16 and over. Commute figures cover people who were employed and working outside the home during the survey period.
How many people work in 68870?
About 261 residents of 68870 are employed. Labor force participation stands at 71.7% and the unemployment rate is 1.1%. Note this counts residents by where they live, not by where they work — a ZIP with many offices can have far more jobs than employed residents.
Where should I stay when visiting 68870?
Accommodation in and around Riverdale, NE ranges with the character of the area. See the 'Where to stay' section on this page for local context, and use the live search there for current availability and pricing.
Does 68870 cover more than one city or county?
This page lists Riverdale as the primary place and Buffalo County as the county. ZIP codes follow mail delivery routes rather than municipal or county lines, so a single code can straddle boundaries, and USPS also recognises alternate acceptable city names for many codes. If you need the definitive answer for a specific street address, the USPS ZIP Code Lookup is the authority.
Can ZIP code 68870 change?
Yes. USPS adjusts ZIP codes as delivery volumes shift — codes are occasionally split, merged, retired or newly created, and boundaries move more often than most people assume. The Census Bureau's ZCTA definitions, which underpin the demographic figures on this page, are redrawn only once a decade, so the two can drift apart between censuses.

Methodology

Where this data comes from

  • Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
  • Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 68870. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
  • Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
  • Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
  • Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
On accuracy. ACS figures are survey estimates, not counts. The margin of error shown alongside the population figure means the true value has a 90% chance of falling in that range. For small ZIP codes the error can be large relative to the estimate — treat the direction as more reliable than the exact number. This page reports data for ZCTA 68870, the Census approximation of the USPS delivery area.