ZIP 21215 vs ZIP 21209

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21215 (Baltimore, MD) and ZIP 21209 (Baltimore, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21215 has a population of 60,161 at 3,409 people per square mile, while ZIP 21209 has 26,465 at 1,443 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 21215 reports a median household income of $51,587 against $91,437 in ZIP 21209, with per-capita income of $33,520 vs $53,449. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.0% in 21215 and 60.7% in 21209. Poverty rate reads 21.4% vs 6.7%, and unemployment 7.4% vs 5.7% - 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 $201,200 in 21215 versus $440,800 in 21209, with median rent of $1,172 and $1,655 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 54.8% vs 57.5%. 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.