ZIP 21128 vs ZIP 21236

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21128 (Perry Hall, MD) and ZIP 21236 (Nottingham, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21128 has a population of 12,802 at 740 people per square mile, while ZIP 21236 has 38,474 at 1,734 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 21128 reports a median household income of $128,069 against $95,149 in ZIP 21236, with per-capita income of $54,499 vs $46,874. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 54.8% in 21128 and 40.0% in 21236. Poverty rate reads 3.1% vs 11.0%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 3.1% - 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 $449,500 in 21128 versus $327,200 in 21236, with median rent of $1,935 and $1,650 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.0% vs 69.6%. 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.