Best Places72631, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 72631, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
72631 ranks 22,461st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 72631
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.
72631's strengths and weaknesses
Where 72631 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 95% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 72631 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 72631
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 72631 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,467, 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 72631's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 72631
72631 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 72631.
Who works in 72631, and how
Work in 72631 centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 72631
72631 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 72631 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 72631, month by month
72631 sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 73° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 72631
The nearest airport, Branson, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 203 miles away.
The best schools in and around 72631
Schools across 72631 average a B−, better than 51% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Eureka Springs Elem. SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Garfield Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Berryville Intermediate SchC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lingle Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Eureka Springs Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Berryville Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Eureka Springs High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Berryville High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Rogers Heritage High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 72631 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
72631 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 72631 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 72631
Is 72631 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 72631 ranks 22,461st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, tree cover, and state finances, and lowest on the weather and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 72631 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $241,696. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $63,467 median income, cost of living beats 37% of zip codes.
Is 72631 safe?
Yes, 72631 is safer than 71% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $389 per resident a year.
Compare 72631 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 72631. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 72631 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.
72631 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 72631: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 72631: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 72631: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 72631: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
72631 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.