Home age in ZIP 72903, Fort Smith, AR: median built 1979

Home age is not roof age, and the Census does not record replacements. ZIP 72903 in Fort Smith, AR: median home built 1979; 85.2% of homes (10,291) are older than 25 years and 6.3% (763) were built since 2010, out of 12,079 homes.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019 to 2023 (5-year estimates), retrieved October 9, 2026. Area = Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area 72903.

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Share of homes in ZIP 72903 by decade builtColumns from the pre-1940 decade on the left to 2020 and later on the right. pre-1940 1.6 percent; 1940s 1.8 percent; 1950s 8.5 percent; 1960s 10.1 percent; 1970s 31.8 percent; 1980s 22 percent; 1990s 9.5 percent; 2000s 8.5 percent; 2010s 5.8 percent; 2020+ 0.6 percentpre-1940: 193 homes, 1.6%1.6%pre-1940Sebastian County: 5.6%1940s: 220 homes, 1.8%1.8%1940sSebastian County: 6.7%1950s: 1,021 homes, 8.5%8.5%1950sSebastian County: 9.9%1960s: 1,222 homes, 10.1%10.1%1960sSebastian County: 9.5%1970s: 3,838 homes, 31.8%31.8%1970sSebastian County: 18.7%1980s: 2,654 homes, 22.0%22%1980sSebastian County: 15.2%1990s: 1,143 homes, 9.5%9.5%1990sSebastian County: 12.1%2000s: 1,025 homes, 8.5%8.5%2000sSebastian County: 11.7%2010s: 695 homes, 5.8%5.8%2010sSebastian County: 9.5%2020+: 68 homes, 0.6%0.6%2020+Sebastian County: 1.2%Built 1999 or earlier: 85.2% of homes (10,291)ZIP 72903, built before 2000built 2000 or laterSebastian County

Share of the 12,079 housing units in the ZIP, by decade built. The red marks are Sebastian County. This counts houses, not roofs: a roof is replaced several times in the life of a house, and no federal survey records when.

ZIP 72903 next to Fort Smith and Sebastian County

IndicatorZIP 72903Fort SmithSebastian CountyRank among 4 ZIPs of Fort Smith on this site
Housing units12,07940,14657,1971st of 4 largest
Median year built1979197619803rd of 4 oldest
Built before 198053.8%57.5%50.3%
Built before 200085.2%no data77.6%3rd of 4 highest share
Built since 20106.3%no data10.7%
Owner-occupied homes53.6%53%61.2%2nd of 4 highest share
Single-family units62.5%68.9%no data
Median home value$216,200 (+/- $14,594)$168,100$166,0001st of 4 highest
Median household income$60,186 (+/- $4,847)$52,692no data2nd of 4 highest

City figures are for the Census place, county figures for the county; “no data” means the Census file does not publish that figure. Value and income are survey estimates, the plus-or-minus is the 90% margin of error.

Every decade in ZIP 72903

BuiltShare of Sebastian CountyShare of ZIPHomes in ZIP 72903
2020+1.2%0.6%68
2010s9.5%5.8%695
2000s11.7%8.5%1,025
1990s12.1%9.5%1,143
1980s15.2%22.0%2,654
1970s18.7%31.8%3,838
1960s9.5%10.1%1,222
1950s9.9%8.5%1,021
1940s6.7%1.8%220
pre-19405.6%1.6%193

Counts are Census estimates of housing units by year built (table B25034). If a roof had never been replaced, it would be 3 to 6 years old on a house from the 2020s, 17 to 26 on one from the 2000s, 37 to 46 on one from the 1980s and 87 or more on one from before 1940. Most older houses have had at least one replacement, and the Census does not record when.

What the numbers say about ZIP 72903

ZIP 72903 has 12,079 housing units: 10,291 (85.2%) were built before 2000, 763 (6.3%) in 2010 or later, and 3,838 (31.8%) in the 1970s, its largest era. The median year built is 1979 (Fort Smith: 1976), so 3 years newer than the city.

Housing mix and money, from the same survey: 53.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied; 62.5% of units are single-family houses; the median owner-occupied home is valued at $216,200, give or take $14,594; median household income is $60,186, give or take $4,847; the ZIP holds 30.1% of the housing units the Census counts in Fort Smith, 12,079 of them. These are survey estimates with margins of error, and for a small ZIP the margin can be wide.

Reading this for roofs, carefully: the Census records when a house was built, never when its roof was last replaced. If every roof were still the one installed with its house, 9,148 units (75.7%, built before 1990) would be past the 30-year top of the usual asphalt-shingle range, 1,143 (9.5%, the 1990s) would mostly sit past it, 1,025 (8.5%, the 2000s) would mostly be inside the 20 to 30 year window and 763 (6.3%, 2010 onward) would be younger than it. Most older roofs have been replaced, so treat these as the pool of houses where an old roof is possible, not as a count of old roofs.

Roof age calculator for ZIP 72903

Enter the year your house was built, and the year the roof was last replaced if you know it. It starts at the median year built for this ZIP. The share of neighbours’ homes older than yours comes from this ZIP’s own decade counts.

–years old (roof)
–of homes in ZIP 72903 are older
–vs. the ZIP median year built

Material ranges are general planning figures (the same ones as on our roof-age page), not warranties. Sun, storms, attic ventilation and installation quality move them. The decade shares assume homes were built evenly within each decade. This is not an inspection: a roofer on the roof decides.

Map: ZIP 72903 among Fort Smith’s ZIP areas

Map of ZIP 72903 and nearby ZIP areas, shaded by the share of homes built before 2000ZIP 72901: 10,337 homes, 91.1% built before 2000, median year 195772901ZIP 72904: 8,406 homes, 86.1% built before 2000, median year 196772904ZIP 72908: 6,374 homes, 80.1% built before 2000, median year 198572908ZIP 72903: 12,079 homes, 85.2% built before 2000, median year 197972903
  • under 20% built before 2000
  • 40 to 60%
  • 80% or more
  • Dot size = housing units. Red ring = ZIP 72903. Click a dot to open that ZIP.

Closest ZIP areas

ZIPMilesMedian builtPre-2000
729013.1 W195791.1%
729084.1 SW198580.1%
729044.3 N196786.1%

Distance is between Census ZIP centres.

Storm backdrop: Sebastian County

A ZIP is too small for its own hail record, so this is the county. FEMA’s National Risk Index rates Sebastian County Relatively Moderate overall (86.8 of 100), Relatively Low for hail (65.6), Relatively Moderate for strong wind (56.0) and Relatively High for tornado (94.2). NOAA logged 91 hail reports in the county, on 34 days with hail of 1 inch or more in the full years 2014 to 2025.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 version, county level. This product uses FEMA’s National Risk Index data but is not endorsed by FEMA.

Where to go from here

Other roofing cities near ZIP 72903: Fayetteville, AR (52 miles), Springdale, AR (59 miles), Rogers, AR (69 miles).

Questions

How old are the homes in ZIP 72903?

Of the 12,079 housing units, 6,494 (53.8%) were built before 1980, 10,291 (85.2%) before 2000 and 763 (6.3%) from 2010 on (Census ACS 2019 to 2023, survey estimate).

Does a house's age tell me how old its roof is in 72903?

No. ACS records the year the structure was built, not the year the roof was last replaced. With 6,494 units built before 1980 in this ZIP, many roofs are replacements rather than originals. Ask the seller for permit records or have a roofer inspect the roof.

Which nearby ZIP has the oldest housing?

Of the 3 closest ZIP areas we cover, 72901 (3.1 miles W) has the largest share built before 2000, 91.1%, against 85.2% in 72903.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2019 to 2023, tables B25034 (year structure built), B25035, B25003, B25024, B25077 and B19013, ZIP Code Tabulation Areas; ZIP-to-city assignment from the Census 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file (a ZIP is assigned to a city when more than half of its land area lies inside it). A ZCTA is not a USPS ZIP code: it approximates one and can differ at the edges. Public domain. The 12 ZIP-specific figures above differ from ZIP to ZIP.

Information only, not a roof inspection. Pickaroofer does not know the condition of any individual roof.