ZIP 72143 vs ZIP 72012

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72143 (Searcy, AR) and ZIP 72012 (Beebe, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72143 has a population of 35,169 at 45 people per square mile, while ZIP 72012 has 11,986 at 51 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 72143 reports a median household income of $58,344 against $61,277 in ZIP 72012, with per-capita income of $30,086 vs $33,540. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.7% in 72143 and 18.0% in 72012. Poverty rate reads 17.9% vs 13.5%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 2.5% — 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 $181,300 in 72143 versus $171,700 in 72012, with median rent of $904 and $787 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.0% vs 70.3%. 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.