ZIP 21532 vs ZIP 21543

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21532 (Frostburg, MD) and ZIP 21543 (Midlothian, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21532 has a population of 15,620 at 78 people per square mile, while ZIP 21543 has 140 at 40 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 21532 reports a median household income of $63,690 against — in ZIP 21543, with per-capita income of $32,801 vs $53,144. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.5% in 21532 and 15.4% in 21543. Poverty rate reads 17.0% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 35.3% — 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 $182,400 in 21532 versus $190,200 in 21543, with median rent of $916 and $775 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.7% vs 84.4%. 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.