ZIP 21236 vs ZIP 21234

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21236 (Nottingham, MD) and ZIP 21234 (Parkville, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21236 has a population of 38,474 at 1,734 people per square mile, while ZIP 21234 has 69,752 at 2,074 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 21236 reports a median household income of $95,149 against $83,517 in ZIP 21234, with per-capita income of $46,874 vs $44,405. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.0% in 21236 and 36.4% in 21234. Poverty rate reads 11.0% vs 8.4%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 3.9% - 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 $327,200 in 21236 versus $288,100 in 21234, with median rent of $1,650 and $1,587 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.6% vs 64.5%. 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.