ZIP 21163 vs ZIP 21104

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21163 (Woodstock, MD) and ZIP 21104 (Marriottsville, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21163 has a population of 7,026 at 216 people per square mile, while ZIP 21104 has 4,601 at 105 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 21163 reports a median household income of $134,672 against $191,804 in ZIP 21104, with per-capita income of $81,758 vs $74,405. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 63.3% in 21163 and 64.4% in 21104. Poverty rate reads 7.6% vs 2.7%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 3.2% — 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 $602,800 in 21163 versus $680,200 in 21104, with median rent of $1,438 and $1,384 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.0% vs 97.0%. 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.