ZIP 72827 vs ZIP 72838

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72827 (Bluffton, AR) and ZIP 72838 (Gravelly, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72827 has a population of 187 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 72838 has 115 at 2 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 72827 reports a median household income of $28,021 against $85,580 in ZIP 72838, with per-capita income of $22,978 vs $43,016. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.1% in 72827 and 20.0% in 72838. Poverty rate reads 15.4% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 0.0% — 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 $202,300 in 72827 versus $102,400 in 72838, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.5% vs 100.0%. 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.