ZIP 72843 vs ZIP 72080

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72843 (Hector, AR) and ZIP 72080 (Jerusalem, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72843 has a population of 2,274 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 72080 has 662 at 3 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 72843 reports a median household income of $62,805 against $27,583 in ZIP 72080, with per-capita income of $24,596 vs $18,040. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.7% in 72843 and 7.1% in 72080. Poverty rate reads 12.6% vs 14.2%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 5.8% — 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 $120,300 in 72843 versus $48,300 in 72080, with median rent of $850 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.9% vs 96.1%. 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.