ZIP 21157 vs ZIP 21048

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21157 (Westminster, MD) and ZIP 21048 (Finksburg, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21157 has a population of 36,920 at 186 people per square mile, while ZIP 21048 has 10,650 at 152 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 21157 reports a median household income of $104,966 against $131,921 in ZIP 21048, with per-capita income of $49,793 vs $58,207. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.9% in 21157 and 47.3% in 21048. Poverty rate reads 6.7% vs 1.9%, and unemployment 4.1% 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 $424,100 in 21157 versus $459,000 in 21048, with median rent of $1,331 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.8% vs 97.8%. 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.