ZIP 72390 vs ZIP 72355

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72390 (West Helena, AR) and ZIP 72355 (Lexa, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72390 has a population of 9,107 at 96 people per square mile, while ZIP 72355 has 2,768 at 10 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 72390 reports a median household income of $38,294 against $55,307 in ZIP 72355, with per-capita income of $19,783 vs $30,269. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.5% in 72390 and 20.4% in 72355. Poverty rate reads 30.3% vs 24.9%, and unemployment 11.9% vs 3.2% — 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 $64,700 in 72390 versus $97,600 in 72355, with median rent of $782 and $960 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 52.4% vs 61.8%. 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.