ZIP 72438 vs ZIP 63821

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72438 (Leachville, AR) and ZIP 63821 (Arbyrd, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72438 has a population of 2,574 at 18 people per square mile, while ZIP 63821 has 970 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 72438 reports a median household income of $56,688 against $40,238 in ZIP 63821, with per-capita income of $28,305 vs $22,211. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.5% in 72438 and 12.2% in 63821. Poverty rate reads 23.7% vs 24.8%, and unemployment 0.6% vs 3.8% — 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 $123,500 in 72438 versus $60,900 in 63821, with median rent of $475 and $625 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.6% vs 67.9%. 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.