Best Places72206, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 72206, 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.
72206 ranks 29,954th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Air quality pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state finances.
The best neighborhoods in 72206
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.
72206's strengths and weaknesses
Where 72206 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 86% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$671 a month, better than 78% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 72206 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 72206
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 72206 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,888, 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 72206'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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 72206
72206's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 72206.
Who works in 72206, and how
Work in 72206 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 72206
72206 has more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 72206 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 72206, month by month
72206 sees roughly 74 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 72206
The nearest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around 72206
Schools across 72206 average a D, better than 7% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- East End Intermediate SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Gibbs Magnet Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Landmark Elementary SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sheridan Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Pulaski Heights Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- East End Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Sheridan High SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Wilbur D. Mills High SchoolF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 72206 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
72206 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 72206 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 72206 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 72206
Is 72206 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 72206 ranks 29,954th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, transit, and fast internet, and lowest on air quality and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 72206 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $145,622. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $55,888 median income, cost of living beats 25% of zip codes.
Is 72206 safe?
72206 is safer than 8% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,128 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 72206?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 33. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 33% of zip codes.
Is 72206 good for families?
Schools beat 7% of zip codes, crime safety beats 8%, and childcare runs $671 a month.
Compare 72206 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 72206. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 72206 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.
72206 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 72206: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 72206: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 72206: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 72206: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
72206 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.