AreaProfile

72209Little Rock, Arkansas

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 72209.

60
Area Score
Bottom 42% of 695 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 35% of 727 published ZIP areas62
Growth408th of 701 published ZIP areas46
Housing affordabilityTop 41% of 800 published ZIP areas75
Climate497th of 779 published ZIP areas66
Physical resilience549th of 800 published ZIP areas44
Access621st of 779 published ZIP areas90
Economic stability758th of 800 published ZIP areas30
The quick read

Residential permitting has slowed: 628 units authorized over the past twelve months, 36% below the prior year.

A major airport is 7 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

Its Area Score of 60 places 72209 in the top 58% of published ZIP profiles.

At a glance

Population
31,607
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$40,231
Bottom 6% nationally
Density
1,730/sq mi
18.3 sq mi of land
Median age
29.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Little Rock
Arkansas
Metro area
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
Nearest major airport
LIT
7 mi · Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Fld
Median home value
$98,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.2% is lower than 76% of the 1,061 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment grew 2.2% over the past year, to 105,041 employed residents.

Median household income of $40,231 is below 94% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,907$40,231Bottom 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,166$19,503Bottom 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate29.1%Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute21.7 minBottom 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher13.9%Bottom 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment105,041Bottom 13%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)5.3%Top 2%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)2.2%Top 2%June 2026
Labor force109,662Bottom 13%June 2026
Labor force participation58.3%Bottom 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$58,000Bottom 6%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$45,790Bottom 7%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.0%Top 50%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.2%Bottom 24%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202440k39k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $40,231 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 — Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses11,550$81,070
Retail Salespersons10,620$29,150
General and Operations Managers9,330$76,080
Fast Food and Counter Workers8,720$27,470
Stockers and Order Fillers7,990$35,340
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers7,910$57,050

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 Little Rock, AR, the city containing this ZIP code.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $965 takes 29% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.5 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
28.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$965
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$98,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.46Bottom 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate38.5%Bottom 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±82913,574Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$56$965Bottom 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,282$98,800Bottom 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income28.8%Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate11.1%Top 50%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
46/ 100
Ranks 408 of 701 published city 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: only 10% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 3.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
628
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.1
Bottom 34% nationally
Year over year
−36%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
9.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

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

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 31°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 50.4 inches, including 3.8 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LITTLE ROCK AP ADAMS FLD, 6.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation50.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall3.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low31°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing41°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

44 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and tornado.

Ice stormElevated
TornadoModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Winter weatherModerate
LightningModerate
Inland floodingElevated
HailModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, heat wave, cold wave, wildfire, hurricane, drought.

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.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 7 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams FldLIT7 mi8,273 ft
Tunica MuniUTA113 mi8,500 ft
Greenville Mid-DeltaGLH113 mi8,001 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
60
Your Score

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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 browse every source.

72209 vs Little Rock

How this ZIP area compares with Little Rock as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

72209
Little Rock
Median household income
$40,231
vs
$63,003
Per capita income
$19,503
vs
$43,712
Population density
1,730/sq mi
vs
1,678/sq mi
Median home value
$98,800
vs
$236,400
Median gross rent
$965
vs
$1,106
Homeownership rate
38.5%
vs
53.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher
13.9%
vs
44.6%
Poverty rate
29.1%
vs
17.5%
Median age
29.2
vs
35.9

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.