ZIP 72331 vs ZIP 72373

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72331 (Earle, AR) and ZIP 72373 (Parkin, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72331 has a population of 3,184 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 72373 has 1,329 at 5 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 72331 reports a median household income of $46,848 against $26,700 in ZIP 72373, with per-capita income of $20,252 vs $21,492. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.9% in 72331 and 4.1% in 72373. Poverty rate reads 25.8% vs 18.9%, and unemployment 13.4% vs 17.2% — 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 $86,600 in 72331 versus $46,300 in 72373, with median rent of $583 and $525 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 51.4% vs 58.5%. 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.