ZIP 21216 vs ZIP 21217

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21216 (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 21216 has a population of 32,071 at 3,714 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 21216 reports a median household income of $42,031 against $38,409 in ZIP 21217, with per-capita income of $25,472 vs $32,026. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.2% in 21216 and 23.4% in 21217. Poverty rate reads 27.0% vs 31.6%, and unemployment 14.1% 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 $147,800 in 21216 versus $180,100 in 21217, with median rent of $1,176 and $1,119 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 50.2% 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.