ZIP 72853 vs ZIP 72834

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72853 (Ola, AR) and ZIP 72834 (Dardanelle, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72853 has a population of 2,217 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 72834 has 10,565 at 26 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 72853 reports a median household income of $35,262 against $63,131 in ZIP 72834, with per-capita income of $23,223 vs $30,194. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 6.8% in 72853 and 19.5% in 72834. Poverty rate reads 24.1% vs 10.5%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 2.5% — 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 $98,100 in 72853 versus $162,300 in 72834, with median rent of $574 and $906 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.3% vs 68.8%. 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.