72401 — Jonesboro, Arkansas

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 72401. Its median household income runs 18% below Jonesboro as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 42% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 44% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured57
Schools2,311th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured30
GrowthTop 11% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured73
Housing affordability1,963rd of 3,112 ZIP areas measured62
ClimateTop 50% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured70
Physical resilience1,900th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured48
Access2,359th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured81
Economic stability2,916th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured22
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.4% and median household income $45,329, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Jonesboro, AR, which contains 72401, rather than for 72401 alone.

In the public schools here, 37% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.8 students for every teacher.

792 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 2% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Jonesboro, AR, which contains 72401, rather than for 72401 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
42,602
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$45,329
Bottom 10% nationally
Density
481/sq mi
88.5 sq mi of land
Median age
33.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Jonesboro
Arkansas
Metro area
Nearest major airport
BYH
37 mi · Arkansas Intl
Median home value
$188,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Jonesboro, AR, which contains 72401, is 4.4% — higher than in all but 49% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Jonesboro, AR, which contains 72401, grew 1.9% over the past year, to 39,651 employed residents.

Median household income of $45,329 is lower than in 90% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsCraighead County, AR’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$46,5935th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftCraighead County, AR’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$49,8799th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,1352024 ACS 5-Year$45,329Bottom 10%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2002024 ACS 5-Year$27,009Bottom 18%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year29.6%Bottom 7%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year18.7 minTop 10%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year24.0%Top 48%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year79.1%62nd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJonesboro, AR’s figureJuly 202639,651Bottom 42%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Jonesboro, AR’s figureJuly 2026+5.3%Top 6%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Jonesboro, AR’s figureJuly 2026+1.9%Top 10%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceJonesboro, AR’s figureJuly 202641,46242nd percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year72.0%Bottom 29%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageJonesboro, AR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$52,610Bottom 4%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageJonesboro, AR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$42,240Bottom 4%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Jonesboro, AR’s figureJuly 2026−0.3%Top 38%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateJonesboro, AR’s figureJuly 20264.4%Bottom 49%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.4%38th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202445k40k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $45,329 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Jonesboro, AR

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses1,990$78,940
Retail Salespersons1,940$28,960
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,900$26,260
General and Operations Managers1,470$69,370
Cashiers1,340$28,090
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand1,280$37,500

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Jonesboro, AR, the city containing this ZIP code.

37% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 36% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.8 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
13
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.8
across 12 of them
Math proficiency
37.3%
Bottom 28% in Arkansas
Reading proficiency
36.4%
Bottom 23% in Arkansas
The 12 largest of 13 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
The Academies at Jonesboro High SchoolJONESBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT1,50514.923%31%
Douglas Macarthur Junior High SchoolJONESBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT76514.435%33%
Visual & Performing Arts MagnetJONESBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT73118.355%42%
Annie Camp Junior High SchoolJONESBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT70113.232%37%
International Studies MagnetJONESBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT63618.759%59%
Health Wellness & Environmental Studies MagnetJONESBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT63318.649%40%
Math & Science Magnet SchoolJONESBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT49915.628%25%
Leadership Magnet SchoolJONESBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT49218.221%19%
Kindergarten CenterJONESBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT48514.7——
Early Childhood Learning CenterJONESBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT31518.5——
Nettleton STEAM IntermediateNETTLETON SCHOOL DISTRICT31314.254%49%
Nettleton STEAM ElementaryNETTLETON SCHOOL DISTRICT20614.7——

97.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Arkansas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 14% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 86.0, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Jonesboro, AR Metro Area is up 29% over five years, but down 1.0% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $758 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.40% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,040, some 13% above the $923 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,040 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,600 a year, about 92% of the median household income here of $45,329.

The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $923 a month.

A median home at $188,600 costs 2.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $67,167, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
86.0

Prices here run about 14% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Jonesboro, AR Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
35.8%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,040
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$923
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$188,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 72401’s median household income of $45,329, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Jonesboro, AR Metro Area’s figure202386.0Top 1%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Jonesboro, AR Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−1.0%2nd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Jonesboro, AR Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+29.2%13th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Jonesboro, AR Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+59.1%5th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.8Bottom 46%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year48.9%8th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6402024 ACS 5-Year19,30196th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$870Top 15%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,402Top 17%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,040Top 12%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$592024 ACS 5-Year$923Top 40%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,0692024 ACS 5-Year$188,60041st percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1562024 ACS 5-Year$75812th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,8922024 ACS 5-Year$67,167Bottom 26%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year0.40%6th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year35.8%Bottom 16%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1232024 ACS 5-Year17283rd percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%48th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.2%63rd percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4172024 ACS 5-Year1,94896th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

73/ 100
Top 11% of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 792 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 15% are in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Jonesboro, AR, which contains 72401, rather than for 72401 alone.

At 9.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Jonesboro, AR, which contains 72401, rather than for 72401 alone.

Units permitted
792
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.9
Top 13% nationally
Year over year
+2%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
14.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
38%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$46,593
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$49,879
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Poinsett County, AR 572 people · 9.9% of arrivals
  2. Greene County, AR 538 people · 9.3% of arrivals
  3. Mississippi County, AR 474 people · 8.2% of arrivals
  4. Crittenden County, AR 188 people · 3.3% of arrivals
  5. Cross County, AR 187 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Greene County, AR 660 people · 13% of departures
  2. Poinsett County, AR 497 people · 9.5% of departures
  3. Mississippi County, AR 302 people · 5.8% of departures
  4. Pulaski County, AR 247 people · 4.7% of departures
  5. Lawrence County, AR 185 people · 3.6% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Craighead County, AR. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Jonesboro, AR, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 31°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 48.5 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station JONESBORO MUNI AP, 3.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals48.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

48 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, tornado and inland flooding, with earthquake alone responsible for 40% of it. Tornado and inland flooding are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Ice stormElevated
EarthquakeModerate
DroughtModerate
Winter weatherModerate
Cold waveModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, heat wave, lightning, inland flooding, strong wind, hail, hurricane, wildfire, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
5.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
9.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.0
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 72401 (Craighead County) rather than 72401 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Jonesboro carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Arkansas Intl at 37 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year85.0%Bottom 30%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle37 miBottom 23%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 40%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.3%Bottom 42%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Arkansas IntlBYH37 mi11,602 ft
Millington/MemphisNQA52 mi8,001 ft
Frederick W Smith Intl/MemphisMEM64 mi11,120 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
56
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

72401 vs Jonesboro

How this ZIP area compares with Jonesboro as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

72401
Jonesboro
Median household income: Jonesboro is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$45,329
vs
$55,424
Per capita income: Jonesboro is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$27,009
vs
$33,544
Population density
481/sq mi
vs
1,000/sq mi
Median home value
$188,600
vs
$223,200
Median gross rent: 72401 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$923
vs
$956
Homeownership rate
48.9%
vs
54.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Jonesboro is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
24.0%
vs
31.8%
Poverty rate: Jonesboro is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
29.6%
vs
21.6%
Median age
33.6
vs
33.9

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.