Best Places71601, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 71601, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
71601 ranks 32,940th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Crime pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on short commutes.
The best neighborhoods in 71601
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
71601's strengths and weaknesses
Where 71601 ranks high
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 71601 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Household income$42,587 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 71601
A household needs to earn about $20,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 71601 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $42,587, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 71601's effective rate of 0.57%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 71601
71601 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 71601.
Who works in 71601, and how
Work in 71601 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 71601
71601 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 96% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 71601 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 71601, month by month
71601 sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 43° | 35° |
| April | 75° | 64° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 78° | 65° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 71601
The nearest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 128 miles away.
The best schools in and around 71601
Schools across 71601 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Taylor Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Star City Jimmy Brown Elementary SchoolD+ · 21% proficient
- L. L. Owen Elementary SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- White Hall Junior High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Star City Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Watson Chapel Jr. High SchoolF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- White Hall High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Star City High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Watson Chapel High SchoolF · 9% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 71601 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
71601 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 71601 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 71601
Is 71601 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 71601 ranks 32,940th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, state finances, and cell coverage, and lowest on crime and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 71601 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $78,908. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $42,587 median income, cost of living beats 7% of zip codes.
Is 71601 safe?
71601 is safer than 1% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $2,033 per resident a year.
Compare 71601 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 71601. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 71601 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
71601 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 71601: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 71601: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 71601: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 71601: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
71601 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.