ZIP 21040 vs ZIP 21009

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21040 (Edgewood, MD) and ZIP 21009 (Abingdon, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21040 has a population of 24,420 at 1,184 people per square mile, while ZIP 21009 has 29,766 at 1,013 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 21040 reports a median household income of $81,704 against $121,660 in ZIP 21009, with per-capita income of $36,347 vs $52,073. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.8% in 21040 and 41.3% in 21009. Poverty rate reads 12.2% vs 4.3%, and unemployment 8.0% vs 3.6% - 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 $238,000 in 21040 versus $357,100 in 21009, with median rent of $1,360 and $1,838 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.1% vs 82.4%. 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.