ZIP 21053 vs ZIP 21120

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21053 (Freeland, MD) and ZIP 21120 (Parkton, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21053 has a population of 3,305 at 57 people per square mile, while ZIP 21120 has 6,967 at 64 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 21053 reports a median household income of $89,497 against $162,052 in ZIP 21120, with per-capita income of $54,388 vs $74,584. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 38.2% in 21053 and 64.2% in 21120. Poverty rate reads 5.1% vs 2.8%, and unemployment 1.2% vs 1.7% — 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 $408,300 in 21053 versus $580,900 in 21120, with median rent of — and $1,271 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.3% vs 93.8%. 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.