Those names that were immediately before and after your ancestor on a census or a tax list probably lived relatively near your ancestor, but do not assume that they shared a property line or lived a ten minute walk from each other.
My paternal grandparents who lived on a farm during the 1940 census enumeration are on the same page with people who lived in the same township, but were actually three or four miles away. The adjacent landowners are enumerated nearby, but are not the names before and after my grandparents.
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Concerning rural areas, I’ve often wondered about the route the census taker took when he/she left home each morning! Some recorded actual dates of enumeration while others did not, making their routes difficult to follow.
That would be true if it was a private home but, if your family lived in apartment buildings they are your next door, upstairs or downstairs neighbors.
Good point.
My gg grandma married her 1860 Greenville, MO census enumerator and that’s one of the reasons I’m here .