72143 — Searcy, Arkansas

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 72143. Its median household income runs 12% above Searcy as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 43% of 3,116 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
OpportunityTop 45% of 3,119 ZIP areas measured56
SchoolsTop 23% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured71
GrowthTop 44% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured54
Housing affordabilityTop 34% of 3,115 ZIP areas measured73
Climate2,129th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured64
Physical resilience2,423rd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured30
Access2,670th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured73
Economic stability2,629th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured31
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.5% and median household income $58,344, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Searcy, AR, which contains 72143, rather than for 72143 alone.

In the public schools here, 53% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.7 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 78 units authorized over the past twelve months, 18% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Searcy, AR, which contains 72143, rather than for 72143 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
35,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$58,344
Bottom 27% nationally
Density
116/sq mi
302 sq mi of land
Median age
35.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Searcy
Arkansas
Micro area
Nearest major airport
LIT
44 mi · Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Fld
Median home value
$181,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Searcy, AR, which contains 72143, is 4.5% — higher than in all but 44% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Searcy, AR, which contains 72143, grew 0.5% over the past year, to 33,500 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsWhite County, AR’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,55012th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftWhite County, AR’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$49,7918th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,6542024 ACS 5-Year$58,344Bottom 27%of 31,1382024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,6732024 ACS 5-Year$30,086Bottom 27%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.4%Bottom 26%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.3 minTop 14%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.7%Top 39%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year81.4%71st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentSearcy, AR’s figureJuly 202633,500Bottom 36%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Searcy, AR’s figureJuly 2026+5.2%Top 6%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Searcy, AR’s figureJuly 2026+0.5%Top 28%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceSearcy, AR’s figureJuly 202635,08437th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year73.8%Bottom 34%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%69th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Searcy, AR’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Bottom 46%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateSearcy, AR’s figureJuly 20264.5%Bottom 44%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.2%26th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202458k46k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $58,344 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.

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

53% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 51% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.7 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.7
across 8 of them
Math proficiency
53.2%
Top 33% in Arkansas
Reading proficiency
51.0%
Top 33% in Arkansas
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Searcy High SchoolSEARCY SCHOOL DISTRICT1,22010.537%47%
Southwest Middle SchoolSEARCY SCHOOL DISTRICT91318.665%55%
Ahlf Junior High SchoolSEARCY SCHOOL DISTRICT57616.559%56%
McRae Elementary SchoolSEARCY SCHOOL DISTRICT44519.367%52%
Sidney Deener Elementary SchoolSEARCY SCHOOL DISTRICT42121.162%42%
Westside Elementary SchoolSEARCY SCHOOL DISTRICT39819.972%62%
Riverview High SchoolRIVERVIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT3404.527%42%
Riverview Junior High SchoolRIVERVIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT17911.237%52%
Asu Beebe Regional Career Center - SearcyASU BEEBE REGIONAL CAREER CENTER - SEARCY0———

53.6% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Arkansas is up 45% over five years, and up 4.0% 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 $975 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.54% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $880, close to the $904 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $880 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $35,200 a year, about 60% of the median household income here of $58,344.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $904 a month.

A median home at $181,300 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $78,037, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$880
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$904
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$181,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 72143’s median household income of $58,344, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Arkansas’s figure2026 Q2+4.0%67th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Arkansas’s figure2026 Q2+45.2%58th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Arkansas’s figure2026 Q2+77.1%21st percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 35%of 29,3222024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year65.0%22nd percentileof 32,9062024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5622024 ACS 5-Year14,97392nd percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$734Top 4%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,149Top 2%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$880Top 2%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$322024 ACS 5-Year$904Top 38%of 26,4752024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,8622024 ACS 5-Year$181,30039th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$912024 ACS 5-Year$97519th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,5342024 ACS 5-Year$78,037Bottom 43%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.54%16th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.8%Bottom 41%of 26,3322024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1472024 ACS 5-Year22487th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.5%55th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.9%66th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4522024 ACS 5-Year1,71095th 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.

Development Momentum

54/ 100
Top 44% 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 78 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Searcy, AR, which contains 72143, rather than for 72143 alone.

At 3.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Searcy, AR, which contains 72143, rather than for 72143 alone.

Units permitted
78
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.3
Top 47% nationally
Year over year
−18%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
34%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$51,550
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$49,791
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Lonoke County, AR 693 people · 19% of arrivals
  2. Pulaski County, AR 358 people · 9.7% of arrivals
  3. Faulkner County, AR 254 people · 6.9% of arrivals
  4. Cleburne County, AR 210 people · 5.7% of arrivals
  5. Independence County, AR 145 people · 3.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Lonoke County, AR 476 people · 14% of departures
  2. Pulaski County, AR 368 people · 11% of departures
  3. Faulkner County, AR 238 people · 7.1% of departures
  4. Cleburne County, AR 232 people · 7.0% of departures
  5. Jackson County, AR 137 people · 4.1% 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 White 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 Searcy, 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 93°F and January a low of 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 51.8 inches, including 1.8 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 SEARCY, 3.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals51.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals1.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 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

30 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 35% of it. tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Ice stormHigh
EarthquakeModerate
Inland floodingElevated
Winter weatherModerate
LightningModerate
LandslideModerate
Cold waveModerate

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

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. Searcy 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.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, and no county figure could be attached to this page.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Fld at 44 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year88.6%Bottom 46%of 32,8192024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle44 miBottom 17%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 9%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.0%Bottom 39%of 32,8192024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams FldLIT44 mi8,273 ft
Tunica MuniUTA87 mi8,500 ft
Frederick W Smith Intl/MemphisMEM100 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.

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
56
Your Score
—

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

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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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 September 26, 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.

72143 vs Searcy

How this ZIP area compares with Searcy 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.

72143
Searcy
Median household income: 72143 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$58,344
vs
$52,170
Per capita income: 72143 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$30,086
vs
$28,824
Population density
116/sq mi
vs
1,274/sq mi
Median home value
$181,300
vs
$188,500
Median gross rent: 72143 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$904
vs
$905
Homeownership rate
65.0%
vs
53.6%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Searcy is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
27.7%
vs
29.6%
Poverty rate: 72143 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
16.4%
vs
16.5%
Median age
35.3
vs
32.4

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.