ZIP 72901 vs ZIP 74901

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72901 (Fort Smith, AR) and ZIP 74901 (Arkoma, OK) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72901 has a population of 21,591 at 952 people per square mile, while ZIP 74901 has 1,992 at 65 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 72901 reports a median household income of $42,851 against $43,929 in ZIP 74901, with per-capita income of $26,107 vs $22,377. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.1% in 72901 and 10.6% in 74901. Poverty rate reads 26.1% vs 22.1%, and unemployment 11.6% vs 7.7% — 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 $118,100 in 72901 versus $83,600 in 74901, with median rent of $854 and $748 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 43.3% vs 62.4%. 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.