Best Places72205, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 72205, 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.
72205 ranks 16,247th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 72205
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.
72205's strengths and weaknesses
Where 72205 ranks high
- Short commute14.7 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 72205 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 72205
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 72205 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,238, 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 72205's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 72205
72205's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 72205.
Who works in 72205, and how
Work in 72205 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 72205
72205 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 72205 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 72205, month by month
72205 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 42° | 33° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 53° |
| July | 93° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 77° | 65° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 72205
The nearest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 136 miles away.
The best schools in and around 72205
Schools across 72205 average a C, better than 37% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Forest Park Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Forest Heights Stem AcademyB+ · 50% proficient
- Pulaski Heights Elem. SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lisa AcademyB− · 41% proficient
- Pulaski Heights Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Dunbar Magnet Middle SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Lisa Academy HighC− · 28% proficient
- Parkview Magnet High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 72205 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
72205 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 72205 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 72205 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 72205
Is 72205 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 72205 ranks 16,247th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, cell coverage, and transit, and lowest on noise and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 72205 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $250,394. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $72,238 median income, cost of living beats 64% of zip codes.
Is 72205 safe?
72205 is safer than 7% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,044 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 72205?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 33. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 32% of zip codes.
Is 72205 good for families?
Schools beat 37% of zip codes, crime safety beats 7%, and childcare runs $671 a month.
Compare 72205 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 72205. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 72205 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.
72205 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 72205: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 72205: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 72205: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 72205: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
72205 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.