ZIP 21217 vs ZIP 21211

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