ZIP 20814 vs ZIP 20896

This side-by-side compares ZIP 20814 (Bethesda, MD) and ZIP 20896 (Garrett Park, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 20814 has a population of 27,642 at 2,094 people per square mile, while ZIP 20896 has 906 at 1,412 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 20814 reports a median household income of $150,996 against $250,001 in ZIP 20896, with per-capita income of $107,953 vs $103,645. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 84.7% in 20814 and 88.3% in 20896. Poverty rate reads 4.4% vs 2.3%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 2.4% — 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 $989,600 in 20814 versus $1,005,700 in 20896, with median rent of $2,333 and $3,250 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 50.8% vs 96.6%. 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.