ZIP 20871 vs ZIP 20872

This side-by-side compares ZIP 20871 (Clarksburg, MD) and ZIP 20872 (Damascus, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 20871 has a population of 13,130 at 247 people per square mile, while ZIP 20872 has 13,104 at 243 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 20871 reports a median household income of $177,523 against $141,050 in ZIP 20872, with per-capita income of $59,923 vs $55,057. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 68.1% in 20871 and 44.3% in 20872. Poverty rate reads 3.8% vs 4.1%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 3.1% — 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 $668,800 in 20871 versus $504,300 in 20872, with median rent of $2,560 and $1,809 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.6% vs 88.9%. 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.