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ZIP stands for Zone Improvement Plan. The codes went live on July 1, 1963.The lowest ZIP code is 00501 — the IRS in Holtsville, New York.The highest ZIP code is 99950, in Ketchikan, Alaska.Type 07734 into a calculator and turn it upside down: hELLO. It is Keansburg, New Jersey.12345 belongs to one company: General Electric in Schenectady, New York.The first digit is a region: 0 is New England and New Jersey, 9 is the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii.Mr. ZIP, the cartoon mailman, was the mascot that sold the idea to America.ZIP+4 arrived in 1983 and can narrow a ZIP down to one side of one block.A ZIP code is a mail route, not a place: plenty of them cross county and even state lines.Play ZIP Hunt: guess the secret ZIP code of the day in six tries.
zipcodes.pro — ZIP/68601

68601

ZIP 68601 is in Columbus, Nebraska, mostly in Platte County; area codes 402 and 531; Central time. Columbus has 2 ZIP codes; the other is 68602.

Type
Standard
Time zone
America/Chicago
County
Platte +3 more
Metro area
Columbus, NE
Population
30,944
Coordinates
41.4524, -97.3947
☼ Live from 68601 — Columbus, NE

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Where 68601 is

Approximate ZIP boundary (Census ZCTA 2020). ZIP codes are mail routes, not areas, so the shape shown is the Census tabulation area that approximates it.

★ Weird and wonderful facts about 68601
  • 🔢 Type 68601 into a pocket calculator and turn it upside down: IOgBg — not quite a word, sorry.
  • ➕ As a number, 68,601 = 3 × 13 × 1759. Its digits add up to 21, a total 2,594 other ZIP codes share.
  • 💾In binary, the way a computer stores it: 10000101111111001
  • 🏠 Its numerical neighbours: 68588 (Lincoln, NE, 57 mi away) and 68602 (Columbus, NE, 2 mi away).
  • 🔄 Backwards, 68601 becomes 10686, which is not a ZIP code at all.
  • 👥 18 other ZIP codes are made of exactly the same digits (01866, 06816, 16680, 16860, 18066, 18660, …). The farthest-flung twin is 01866 in Pinehurst, MA, 1,340 miles away.
  • 🧭 Farther north than 70% of all ZIP codes, and farther west than 75%.
  • 🎯128 miles northeast of the geographic center of the Lower 48, near Lebanon, Kansas.
  • 🌏 Dig straight through the Earth from 68601 and you would come out at 41.45°S, 82.61°E — 810 miles from Port-aux-Français, French Southern Territories, the nearest big city to that spot.
  • ☀Longest day of the year: 15h 11m of daylight. Shortest: 9h 10m.
  • 📏 At 287.7 square miles of land, 68601 is bigger than 94% of ZIP codes — room for about 218 Central Parks.
🌙 The sky over 68601 today
  • Working out the sun…
🌋 Shake report
  • Checking the USGS…

Source: USGS.

People and housing

Population30,944This ZIP30,944
Households12,223This ZIP12,223
Housing units12,992This ZIP12,992
Median age37.9This ZIP37.9Nebraska37.2US 38.9
Median household income$68,480This ZIP$68,480Nebraska$76,475US $80,734
Median home value$221,900This ZIP$221,900Nebraska$238,600US $332,700
Median gross rent$897This ZIP$897Nebraska$1,072US $1,413
Bachelor's degree or higher22.4%This ZIP22.4%
Mean commute15.7 minThis ZIP15.7 min
Population density107.6 / sq miThis ZIP107.6 / sq mi

Business and tax activity

Business establishments872This ZIP872
Employees14,051This ZIP14,051
Annual payroll$710,960,000This ZIP$710,960,000
Tax returns filed14,950This ZIP14,950
Total adjusted gross income$1,106,197,000This ZIP$1,106,197,000

Land area

Land area287.67 sq miThis ZIP287.67 sq mi
Water area10.84 sq miThis ZIP10.84 sq mi

Counties 68601 spans

A ZIP code is a mail route and ignores county lines. Shares are by overlapping land area.

CountyShare of this ZIP
Platte County 73.6%
Colfax County 13.4%
Polk County 11.1%
Butler County 1.9%

Other place names in 68601

Census places whose land this ZIP code overlaps. The Postal Service may accept other city names in an address, too.

ZIP codes near 68601

ZIPCityDistance
68602 Columbus, NE 2.1 mi
68634 Duncan, NE 7.2 mi
68653 Platte Center, NE 9.3 mi
68624 Bellwood, NE 11.3 mi
68647 Monroe, NE 12.9 mi
68661 Schuyler, NE 16.1 mi
68631 Creston, NE 16.5 mi
68662 Shelby, NE 16.7 mi
68642 Humphrey, NE 17.5 mi
68651 Osceola, NE 18.0 mi

Find every ZIP code within 10 miles of 68601 →

Questions about this ZIP code

Where is ZIP code 68601?

68601 is in Columbus, Nebraska, in Platte County, part of the Columbus, NE micropolitan area. Its published point location is 41.4524, -97.3947.

What county is 68601 in?

68601 spans 4 counties: Platte County, Colfax County, Polk County and Butler County. Most of it falls in Platte County, measured by overlapping land area — the county holding the most land in a ZIP code is not always the one holding the most residents.

What area code is 68601?

Columbus uses area codes 402 and 531, from NANPA's telephone records.

What time zone is 68601 in?

68601 uses America/Chicago.

How many people live in 68601?

About 30,944 people live in ZIP code 68601, in 12,223 households, at 107.6 people per square mile. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area, not a headcount.

What is the median household income in 68601?

$68,480 a year, against $76,475 across Nebraska.

What ZIP codes are near 68601?

The closest are 68602 (2.1 mi), 68634 (7.2 mi), 68653 (9.3 mi), 68624 (11.3 mi) and 68647 (12.9 mi).

Is 68601 a PO Box ZIP code?

68601 is a standard ZIP code. A normal ZIP code with street delivery.

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Cite this page

zipcodes.pro. “68601 ZIP Code — Columbus, Nebraska (Platte County).” Data release 2026-10-12. Retrieved 2026-10-20. https://zipcodes.pro/zip/68601

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