ZIP 21742 vs ZIP 21734

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21742 (Hagerstown, MD) and ZIP 21734 (Funkstown, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21742 has a population of 31,444 at 241 people per square mile, while ZIP 21734 has 771 at 1,317 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 21742 reports a median household income of $86,288 against $61,392 in ZIP 21734, with per-capita income of $43,456 vs $36,817. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.2% in 21742 and 29.9% in 21734. Poverty rate reads 12.3% vs 7.9%, and unemployment 4.7% vs 4.3% — 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 $304,800 in 21742 versus $277,800 in 21734, with median rent of $1,351 and $808 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.0% vs 55.2%. 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.