ZIP 21530 vs ZIP 21555

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21530 (Flintstone, MD) and ZIP 21555 (Oldtown, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21530 has a population of 1,591 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 21555 has 1,936 at 7 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 21530 reports a median household income of $63,542 against $53,266 in ZIP 21555, with per-capita income of $32,301 vs $24,708. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.2% in 21530 and 11.9% in 21555. Poverty rate reads 18.5% vs 22.1%, and unemployment 17.0% vs 7.6% — 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 $202,400 in 21530 versus $197,700 in 21555, with median rent of $828 and $790 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.7% vs 82.4%. 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.