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ZIP Code71862

Washington, AR

Hempstead County · Arkansas · United States
Home to 699 people across 63.573 square miles.

Central8 ZIPs in county

At a glance

71862 by the numbers

Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.

Population
699
±342 · 26th pctile nationally
Median household income
$38,504
US median $70,109 · bottom 10%
Median home value
US median $207,500 ·
Median age
43.4
US median 42 years
Population density
11/mi²
bottom 25% most dense
Land area
63.573 mi²
plus 0.021 mi² water

Location

Where 71862 is

33.779653, -93.728054 · Census ZCTA internal pointOpen larger map →
Coordinates33.779653, -93.728054
Time zoneAmerica/Chicago
CountyHempstead County
StateArkansas (AR)
Land area63.573 mi²
Coordinate sourceCensus ZCTA internal point

Local time

America/Chicago

—:—:—

Current weather

Live from the National Weather Service

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Distance to major cities

Straight-line, computed from coordinates

Dallas, TX190.3 mi
Houston, TX294.0 mi
San Antonio, TX411.2 mi
Atlanta, GA536.3 mi

People

Who lives in 71862

699 residents in 313 households, averaging 2.23 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 31.0% of residents, and 47.0% of households are a single person living alone.

Age distribution

Share of residents by age band

Under 1831.0%
18-240.4%
25-340.1%
35-4421.0%
45-5414.6%
55-6425.9%
65+6.9%

Households

Composition and size

Total households313
Average household size2.23
Family households41.5%
Living alone47.0%
Median age43.4 years
Households with internet42.5%

Race & ethnicity

Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.

White33.3%
Black64.1%
Two or more2.6%
Hispanic / Latino1.4%

Income & work

What people earn in 71862

The median household here earns $38,504 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 71862 ahead of 5% of American ZIP codes. 17.0% of residents live below the poverty line.

Compared to the US

This ZIP against the national median

Median household income$38,504
LowestHighest
Higher than 5% of all US ZIP codes.
Median household income$38,504 ±$5,868
Per capita income$17,187
Poverty rate17.0%
Unemployment rate0.0%
Labor force participation45.8%

Household income distribution

Share of households in each bracket

<$25k30.7%
$25-50k34.2%
$50-75k30.4%
$75-100k1.0%
$100-150k3.2%
$150-200k0.6%
$200k+0.0%

Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 6.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 80.6% finished high school.

Housing

Homes and rent in 71862

median rent runs $849 a month. This is an owner-majority area — 72.5% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1986.

Costs

Typical values

Median home value
Median gross rent$849/mo
Median year built1986
Housing units355
Vacancy rate11.8%

Own vs. rent

Of 313 occupied units

Owner-occupied72.5%
Renter-occupied27.5%
Owner households227
Renter households86

Building types

Units by structure size

Single family37.5%
20+ units62.5%

Getting to work

How 71862 commutes

96.2% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 28.5 minutes.

Mode of transport

Workers 16 and older

Drove alone96.2%
Carpooled2.9%
Walked0.8%

Travel time

Mean commute 28.5 minutes

<10 min3.4%
10-1918.5%
20-2944.5%
30-4420.2%
45-5913.4%
60+0.0%

Overview

Understanding ZIP code 71862

ZIP code 71862 is assigned to Washington, AR, and falls within Hempstead County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 699 people live inside it.

At 11 residents per square mile spread over 63.573 square miles, 71862 reads as a rural area. It is a sparsely populated postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.

Household earnings are well below the national median. At $38,504, 71862 ranks among the lower-income postal codes, ahead of 5% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.

Living here

What life in Washington looks like

The building stock is dominated by larger apartment buildings of twenty units or more, which account for 62.5% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1986, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.

The population skews broadly in line with the national age profile, with a median age of 43.4 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.23 people, and 41.5% are family households.

Getting to work takes 28.5 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 96.2% of workers.

Where to stay

Where to stay in Washington, AR

71862 covers a rural area, and accommodation within the postal code itself is likely to be sparse — perhaps a country inn, a lodge or a vacation rental rather than a conventional hotel. Widening the search radius is usually the practical approach, and it also opens up more availability at short notice.

Local costs are modest — median rent here is $849 a month — and accommodation prices in the area tend to be correspondingly reasonable. For reference, Dallas, TX is about 190.3 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.

Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.

Book a Hotel →

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Practical uses

What ZIP code 71862 is used for

Beyond addressing mail, 71862 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.

For anyone weighing a move, 71862 offers a compact profile of Washington: 699 residents, a median household income of $38,504, 6.5% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 0.0%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.

One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 71862 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Washington may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.

Nearby

ZIP codes near 71862

The eight closest postal codes by centroid distance, each with its own full profile. You can also browse every Arkansas ZIP code or use the ZIP Express Lookup to search by city, county or time zone.

More in Hempstead County

Look up another

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Questions

Common questions about 71862

What city is ZIP code 71862 in?
71862 serves Washington, Arkansas, in Hempstead County, United States.
What is the population of 71862?
About 699 people live in ZIP code 71862, according to the US Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The margin of error on that figure is ±342. That works out to roughly 11 people per square mile.
What is the average income in 71862?
The median household income in 71862 is $38,504 per year, compared with a US median of $70,109. Per capita income is $17,187. Median income is more representative than an average because it isn't skewed by a small number of very high earners.
Is 71862 a good place to live?
That depends on what you're looking for, but here are the facts: 6.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is 0.0%, and the median age is 43.4. The average commute is 28.5 minutes. We publish the numbers and let you weigh them.
What time zone is 71862 in?
71862 observes Central Time (America/Chicago). This zone observes daylight saving time.
How big is ZIP code 71862?
ZIP code 71862 covers 63.573 square miles of land plus 0.021 square miles of water, per the US Census Bureau's 2023 Gazetteer files.
Is 71862 urban, suburban or rural?
By population density, 71862 reads as a rural area. It holds 11 people per square mile across 63.573 square miles of land. For reference, densities above 10,000 per square mile generally indicate an urban core, 1,000–3,000 is typically suburban, and under 200 is rural. These are rules of thumb rather than official designations — the Census Bureau classifies urban and rural areas by census block, not by ZIP code.
How much is rent in 71862?
Median gross rent in 71862 is $849 a month, according to the American Community Survey. Gross rent includes contract rent plus the estimated cost of utilities and fuels, so it is closer to what a tenant actually pays than a headline rent figure. Of 313 occupied homes here, 86 are rented.
What is the commute like from 71862?
The average one-way commute from 71862 takes about 28.5 minutes. The most common way to travel is drove alone, used by 96.2% of workers aged 16 and over. Commute figures cover people who were employed and working outside the home during the survey period.
How many people work in 71862?
About 238 residents of 71862 are employed. Labor force participation stands at 45.8% and the unemployment rate is 0.0%. Note this counts residents by where they live, not by where they work — a ZIP with many offices can have far more jobs than employed residents.
Where should I stay when visiting 71862?
Accommodation in and around Washington, AR ranges with the character of the area. See the 'Where to stay' section on this page for local context, and use the live search there for current availability and pricing.
Does 71862 cover more than one city or county?
This page lists Washington as the primary place and Hempstead County as the county. ZIP codes follow mail delivery routes rather than municipal or county lines, so a single code can straddle boundaries, and USPS also recognises alternate acceptable city names for many codes. If you need the definitive answer for a specific street address, the USPS ZIP Code Lookup is the authority.
Can ZIP code 71862 change?
Yes. USPS adjusts ZIP codes as delivery volumes shift — codes are occasionally split, merged, retired or newly created, and boundaries move more often than most people assume. The Census Bureau's ZCTA definitions, which underpin the demographic figures on this page, are redrawn only once a decade, so the two can drift apart between censuses.

Methodology

Where this data comes from

  • Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
  • Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 71862. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
  • Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
  • Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
  • Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
On accuracy. ACS figures are survey estimates, not counts. The margin of error shown alongside the population figure means the true value has a 90% chance of falling in that range. For small ZIP codes the error can be large relative to the estimate — treat the direction as more reliable than the exact number. This page reports data for ZCTA 71862, the Census approximation of the USPS delivery area.