ZIP 21074 vs ZIP 21102

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21074 (Hampstead, MD) and ZIP 21102 (Manchester, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21074 has a population of 15,084 at 155 people per square mile, while ZIP 21102 has 11,751 at 112 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 21074 reports a median household income of $108,536 against $135,069 in ZIP 21102, with per-capita income of $52,305 vs $54,845. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 36.3% in 21074 and 34.7% in 21102. Poverty rate reads 3.9% vs 3.4%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 1.2% — 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 $378,100 in 21074 versus $392,800 in 21102, with median rent of $1,260 and $1,484 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.6% vs 89.4%. 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.