ZIP 72394 vs ZIP 72359

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72394 (Widener, AR) and ZIP 72359 (Madison, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72394 has a population of 625 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 72359 has 430 at 79 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 72394 reports a median household income of $46,875 against $23,802 in ZIP 72359, with per-capita income of $25,540 vs $29,360. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.3% in 72394 and 22.2% in 72359. Poverty rate reads 6.9% vs 30.5%, and unemployment 6.4% vs 0.0% — 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 $43,600 in 72394 versus — in 72359, with median rent of $567 and $281 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.0% vs 68.2%. 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.