ZIP 72951 vs ZIP 72928

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72951 (Ratcliff, AR) and ZIP 72928 (Branch, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72951 has a population of 988 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 72928 has 755 at 13 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 72951 reports a median household income of $39,038 against $32,313 in ZIP 72928, with per-capita income of $28,098 vs $26,516. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.5% in 72951 and 11.5% in 72928. Poverty rate reads 32.7% vs 25.5%, and unemployment 1.9% vs 1.4% — 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 $144,000 in 72951 versus $108,300 in 72928, with median rent of $721 and $736 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.2% vs 84.3%. 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.