ZIP 21052 vs ZIP 21219

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21052 (Fort Howard, MD) and ZIP 21219 (Sparrows Point, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21052 has a population of 303 at 1,563 people per square mile, while ZIP 21219 has 9,379 at 441 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 21052 reports a median household income of $77,300 against $110,438 in ZIP 21219, with per-capita income of $43,267 vs $57,686. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.8% in 21052 and 26.0% in 21219. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 3.5%, and unemployment 14.4% vs 3.3% — 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 $293,200 in 21052 versus $384,600 in 21219, with median rent of — and $1,264 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.9% vs 89.2%. 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.