ZIP 72179 vs ZIP 72121

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72179 (Wilburn, AR) and ZIP 72121 (Pangburn, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72179 has a population of 450 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 72121 has 2,704 at 15 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 72179 reports a median household income of $68,571 against $44,221 in ZIP 72121, with per-capita income of $25,263 vs $21,126. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.1% in 72179 and 16.9% in 72121. Poverty rate reads 3.5% vs 18.2%, and unemployment 6.6% vs 11.8% — 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 $136,700 in 72179 versus $175,900 in 72121, with median rent of — and $846 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.7% vs 83.9%. 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.