ZIP 72626 vs ZIP 72635

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72626 (Cotter, AR) and ZIP 72635 (Gassville, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72626 has a population of 1,243 at 85 people per square mile, while ZIP 72635 has 3,624 at 48 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 72626 reports a median household income of $36,417 against $49,709 in ZIP 72635, with per-capita income of $28,325 vs $27,135. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.4% in 72626 and 14.4% in 72635. Poverty rate reads 10.7% vs 13.1%, and unemployment 1.0% vs 4.8% — 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 $266,000 in 72626 versus $172,100 in 72635, with median rent of $800 and $809 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.9% vs 74.9%. 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.