Best Places71842, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 71842, 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.
71842 ranks 30,355th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 71842
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.
71842's strengths and weaknesses
Where 71842 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 95% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 71% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 64% of zip codes
Where 71842 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Household income$48,894 median, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 71842
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 71842 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,894, 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 71842's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 71842
71842 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 71842.
Who works in 71842, and how
Work in 71842 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 98%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 71842
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 71842.
What the weather is like in 71842, month by month
71842 sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 42° | 32° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 52° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 72° |
| October | 78° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of 71842
The nearest airport, Texarkana Regional-Webb Field, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 164 miles away.
The best schools in and around 71842
Schools across 71842 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Horatio Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dequeen Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Horatio High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Dequeen High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 71842 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
71842 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 71842 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 71842
Is 71842 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 71842 ranks 30,355th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state finances, and low property taxes, and lowest on education levels and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 71842 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $142,217. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $48,894 median income, cost of living beats 10% of zip codes.
Is 71842 safe?
71842 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $890 per resident a year.
Compare 71842 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 71842. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 71842 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.
71842 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 71842: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 71842: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 71842: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 71842: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
71842 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.