ZIP 72923 vs ZIP 72903

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72923 (Barling, AR) and ZIP 72903 (Fort Smith, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72923 has a population of 4,735 at 244 people per square mile, while ZIP 72903 has 26,148 at 603 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 72923 reports a median household income of $54,157 against $61,434 in ZIP 72903, with per-capita income of $28,244 vs $36,424. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.1% in 72923 and 30.3% in 72903. Poverty rate reads 15.3% vs 10.3%, and unemployment 1.9% vs 4.9% — 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 $140,000 in 72923 versus $235,900 in 72903, with median rent of $1,128 and $827 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.7% vs 52.8%. 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.