Best Places71638, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 71638, 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.
71638 ranks 32,942nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 71638
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.
71638's strengths and weaknesses
Where 71638 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 95% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 71% of zip codes
Where 71638 ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$35,236 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 71638
A household needs to earn about $17,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 71638 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $35,236, 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 71638's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 71638
71638 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 71638.
Who works in 71638, and how
Work in 71638 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 71638
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 71638.
What the weather is like in 71638, month by month
71638 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 45° | 36° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 79° | 66° | 56° |
Flying in and out of 71638
The nearest airport, Greenville Mid-Delta, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 134 miles away.
The best schools in and around 71638
Schools across 71638 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Portland Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Mcgehee Elementary SchoolC− · 26% proficient
- Drew Central Elem. SchoolD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dumas Junior High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Hamburg Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Lakeside Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Hamburg High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Mcgehee High SchoolD · 21% proficient
- Drew Central High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 71638 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
71638 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 71638 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 71638
Is 71638 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 71638 ranks 32,942nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, affordable childcare, and state finances, and lowest on the schools and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 71638 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $68,813. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $35,236 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 71638 safe?
71638 is safer than 4% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,324 per resident a year.
Compare 71638 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 71638. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 71638 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.
71638 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 71638: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 71638: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 71638: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 71638: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
71638 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.