Best Places72051, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 72051, 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.
72051 ranks 29,111th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 72051
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.
72051's strengths and weaknesses
Where 72051 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 95% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 152 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 86% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 72051 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 72051
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 72051 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,980, 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 72051's effective rate of 0.40%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 72051
72051 runs younger than the country, 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 72051.
Who works in 72051, and how
Work in 72051 centers on education and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 72051
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 72051.
What the weather is like in 72051, month by month
72051 sees roughly 152 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 38° | 29° |
| April | 73° | 59° | 47° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 75° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 72051
The nearest airport, Boone County, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 141 miles away.
The best schools in and around 72051
Schools across 72051 average a C+, better than 47% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Rural Special Elem. SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Rural Special High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 72051 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
72051 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 72051 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 72051
Is 72051 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 72051 ranks 29,111th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and the weather, and lowest on cell coverage and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 72051 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $183,201. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $54,980 median income, cost of living beats 12% of zip codes.
Is 72051 safe?
72051 is safer than 41% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $529 per resident a year.
Compare 72051 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 72051. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 72051 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.
72051 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 72051: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 72051: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 72051: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 72051: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
72051 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.