ZIP 72542 vs ZIP 72529

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