ZIP 21658 vs ZIP 21638

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21658 (Queenstown, MD) and ZIP 21638 (Grasonville, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21658 has a population of 3,862 at 38 people per square mile, while ZIP 21638 has 4,934 at 195 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 21658 reports a median household income of $128,274 against $140,086 in ZIP 21638, with per-capita income of $58,960 vs $60,714. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.6% in 21658 and 46.7% in 21638. Poverty rate reads 9.4% vs 8.4%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 2.4% — 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 $483,200 in 21658 versus $569,200 in 21638, with median rent of $1,750 and $1,692 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.6% vs 84.5%. 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.