ZIP 72543 vs ZIP 72581

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72543 (Heber Springs, AR) and ZIP 72581 (Tumbling Shoals, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72543 has a population of 12,535 at 43 people per square mile, while ZIP 72581 has 1,030 at 36 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 72543 reports a median household income of $56,722 against — in ZIP 72581, with per-capita income of $35,922 vs $30,624. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.3% in 72543 and 22.0% in 72581. Poverty rate reads 13.6% vs 5.0%, and unemployment 9.1% vs 4.3% — 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 $187,800 in 72543 versus $123,300 in 72581, with median rent of $849 and $828 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.7% vs 94.3%. 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.