ZIP 72443 vs ZIP 72436

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72443 (Marmaduke, AR) and ZIP 72436 (Lafe, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72443 has a population of 2,986 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 72436 has 942 at 13 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 72443 reports a median household income of $51,230 against $52,174 in ZIP 72436, with per-capita income of $26,943 vs $30,856. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.3% in 72443 and 14.2% in 72436. Poverty rate reads 20.6% vs 15.5%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 1.8% — 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 $106,900 in 72443 versus $114,700 in 72436, with median rent of $760 and $725 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.2% vs 88.0%. 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.