ZIP 21663 vs ZIP 21612

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21663 (Saint Michaels, MD) and ZIP 21612 (Bozman, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21663 has a population of 3,308 at 105 people per square mile, while ZIP 21612 has 492 at 33 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 21663 reports a median household income of $89,775 against $117,794 in ZIP 21612, with per-capita income of $67,202 vs $76,111. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 52.8% in 21663 and 51.1% in 21612. Poverty rate reads 5.8% vs 26.0%, and unemployment 5.2% vs 0.0% — 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 $650,500 in 21663 versus $680,000 in 21612, with median rent of $1,067 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.1% vs 100.0%. 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.