Best Places72227, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 72227, 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.
72227 ranks 10,413th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 72227
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.
72227's strengths and weaknesses
Where 72227 ranks high
- Short commute16.2 minutes each way, better than 95% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 72227 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 72227
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 72227 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $91,418, 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 72227's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 72227
72227'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 72227.
Who works in 72227, and how
Work in 72227 centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 72227
72227 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 72227 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 72227, month by month
72227 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 72227
The nearest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 137 miles away.
The best schools in and around 72227
Schools across 72227 average a B−, better than 53% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Forest Heights Stem AcademyB+ · 50% proficient
- Joe T. Robinson Elem. SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Joe T. Robinson Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Pulaski Heights Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Maumelle Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Joe T. Robinson High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Maumelle High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 72227 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
72227 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 72227 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 72227
Is 72227 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 72227 ranks 10,413th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, an educated workforce, and cell coverage, and lowest on air quality and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 72227 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $295,204. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $91,418 median income, cost of living beats 86% of zip codes.
Is 72227 safe?
72227 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $775 per resident a year.
Compare 72227 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 72227. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 72227 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.
72227 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 72227: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 72227: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 72227: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 72227: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
72227 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.