ZIP 71742 vs ZIP 71766

This side-by-side compares ZIP 71742 (Fordyce, AR) and ZIP 71766 (Thornton, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 71742 has a population of 5,980 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 71766 has 670 at 4 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 71742 reports a median household income of $38,843 against $76,875 in ZIP 71766, with per-capita income of $24,830 vs $34,048. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.9% in 71742 and 12.8% in 71766. Poverty rate reads 14.7% vs 8.1%, and unemployment 11.0% vs 5.5% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $98,200 in 71742 versus $126,000 in 71766, with median rent of $636 and $619 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.6% vs 88.9%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.