ZIP 21005 vs ZIP 21130

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21005 (Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD) and ZIP 21130 (Perryman, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21005 has a population of 2,112 at 102 people per square mile, while ZIP 21130 has 187 at 95 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 21005 reports a median household income of $125,208 against $17,336 in ZIP 21130, with per-capita income of $57,953 vs $23,049. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 55.2% in 21005 and 0.0% in 21130. Poverty rate reads 0.9% vs 70.5%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 0.0% — 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 — in 21005 versus — in 21130, with median rent of $2,087 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 2.8% vs 29.6%. 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.