ZIP 20646 vs ZIP 20677

This side-by-side compares ZIP 20646 (La Plata, MD) and ZIP 20677 (Port Tobacco, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 20646 has a population of 18,890 at 88 people per square mile, while ZIP 20677 has 2,322 at 58 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 20646 reports a median household income of $131,974 against $165,764 in ZIP 20677, with per-capita income of $55,317 vs $61,925. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.9% in 20646 and 39.1% in 20677. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 6.0%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 5.6% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $450,200 in 20646 versus $576,700 in 20677, with median rent of $1,541 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.5% vs 97.0%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.