Best Places72524, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 72524, 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.
72524 ranks 27,182nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 72524
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.
72524's strengths and weaknesses
Where 72524 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 95% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 72524 ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 72524
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 72524 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,594, 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 72524's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 72524
72524 runs older than the country, 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 72524.
Who works in 72524, and how
Work in 72524 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 72524
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 72524.
What the weather is like in 72524, month by month
72524 sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 31° |
| April | 72° | 60° | 50° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 72524
The nearest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field, is about 91 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around 72524
Schools across 72524 average a C−, better than 22% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sulphur Rock Magnet SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Hillcrest Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Tuckerman Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Swifton Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Cave City Middle School Career And Collegiate PreparatoryB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Tuckerman High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Hillcrest High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Cave City High Career & Collegiate Preparatory SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 72524 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
72524 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 72524 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 72524
Is 72524 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 72524 ranks 27,182nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a stable housing market, and state finances, and lowest on walkability and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 72524 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $205,600. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $62,594 median income, cost of living beats 38% of zip codes.
Is 72524 safe?
72524 is safer than 45% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $485 per resident a year.
Compare 72524 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 72524. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 72524 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.
72524 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 72524: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 72524: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 72524: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 72524: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
72524 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.