ZIP 20735 vs ZIP 20623

This side-by-side compares ZIP 20735 (Clinton, MD) and ZIP 20623 (Cheltenham, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 20735 has a population of 35,421 at 527 people per square mile, while ZIP 20623 has 2,744 at 550 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 20735 reports a median household income of $126,196 against $146,058 in ZIP 20623, with per-capita income of $54,545 vs $62,027. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.9% in 20735 and 34.7% in 20623. Poverty rate reads 7.9% vs 0.7%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 3.4% — 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 $432,900 in 20735 versus $494,500 in 20623, with median rent of $2,008 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.7% vs 93.2%. 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.