ZIP 72529 vs ZIP 72542

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72529 (Cherokee Village, AR) and ZIP 72542 (Hardy, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72529 has a population of 4,726 at 93 people per square mile, while ZIP 72542 has 3,826 at 9 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 72529 reports a median household income of $37,355 against $41,295 in ZIP 72542, with per-capita income of $25,073 vs $25,017. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.6% in 72529 and 12.7% in 72542. Poverty rate reads 16.9% vs 15.2%, and unemployment 16.8% vs 5.7% — 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 $94,700 in 72529 versus $98,500 in 72542, with median rent of $951 and $646 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.3% vs 83.2%. 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.