ZIP 72821 vs ZIP 72832

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72821 (Altus, AR) and ZIP 72832 (Coal Hill, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72821 has a population of 2,048 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 72832 has 923 at 43 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 72821 reports a median household income of $37,083 against $27,356 in ZIP 72832, with per-capita income of $25,387 vs $17,727. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.2% in 72821 and 9.6% in 72832. Poverty rate reads 31.3% vs 27.5%, and unemployment 6.2% vs 8.9% — 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 $100,000 in 72821 versus $86,500 in 72832, with median rent of $716 and $602 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.7% vs 66.8%. 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.