ZIP 71763 vs ZIP 71720

This side-by-side compares ZIP 71763 (Sparkman, AR) and ZIP 71720 (Bearden, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 71763 has a population of 1,666 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 71720 has 2,498 at 7 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 71763 reports a median household income of $73,438 against $61,250 in ZIP 71720, with per-capita income of $33,852 vs $25,714. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.1% in 71763 and 15.8% in 71720. Poverty rate reads 10.9% vs 17.5%, and unemployment 2.4% vs 2.1% — 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 $86,800 in 71763 versus $102,400 in 71720, with median rent of $530 and $809 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.5% vs 74.8%. 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.