ZIP 21211 vs ZIP 21217

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21211 (Baltimore, MD) and ZIP 21217 (Baltimore, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21211 has a population of 17,351 at 2,404 people per square mile, while ZIP 21217 has 37,111 at 6,189 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 21211 reports a median household income of $82,828 against $38,409 in ZIP 21217, with per-capita income of $59,251 vs $32,026. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 62.5% in 21211 and 23.4% in 21217. Poverty rate reads 10.7% vs 31.6%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 12.3% — 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 $284,500 in 21211 versus $180,100 in 21217, with median rent of $1,594 and $1,119 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.5% vs 30.0%. 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.