ZIP 21102 vs ZIP 21074

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