ZIP 72086 vs ZIP 72176

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72086 (Lonoke, AR) and ZIP 72176 (Ward, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72086 has a population of 10,727 at 29 people per square mile, while ZIP 72176 has 8,141 at 40 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 72086 reports a median household income of $58,743 against $68,840 in ZIP 72176, with per-capita income of $34,845 vs $32,384. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.9% in 72086 and 20.2% in 72176. Poverty rate reads 11.7% vs 10.3%, and unemployment 9.4% 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 $148,600 in 72086 versus $176,000 in 72176, with median rent of $919 and $982 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.7% vs 71.8%. 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.