ZIP 72956 vs ZIP 72904

This side-by-side compares ZIP 72956 (Van Buren, AR) and ZIP 72904 (Fort Smith, AR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 72956 has a population of 34,074 at 127 people per square mile, while ZIP 72904 has 21,893 at 644 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 72956 reports a median household income of $62,988 against $41,909 in ZIP 72904, with per-capita income of $30,291 vs $18,424. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.8% in 72956 and 7.7% in 72904. Poverty rate reads 13.5% vs 29.5%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 8.0% — 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 $184,100 in 72956 versus $111,500 in 72904, with median rent of $853 and $842 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.6% vs 53.1%. 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.