ZIP 72176 vs ZIP 72102

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72176 (Ward, AR) and ZIP 72102 (Mc Rae, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72176 has a population of 8,141 at 40 people per square mile, while ZIP 72102 has 2,873 at 22 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 72176 reports a median household income of $68,840 against $59,120 in ZIP 72102, with per-capita income of $32,384 vs $27,149. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.2% in 72176 and 17.4% in 72102. Poverty rate reads 10.3% vs 19.9%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 2.9% — 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 $176,000 in 72176 versus $111,800 in 72102, with median rent of $982 and $687 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.8% vs 84.8%. 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.