ZIP 21755 vs ZIP 21769

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21755 (Jefferson, MD) and ZIP 21769 (Middletown, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21755 has a population of 5,591 at 63 people per square mile, while ZIP 21769 has 11,236 at 106 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 21755 reports a median household income of $137,417 against $151,563 in ZIP 21769, with per-capita income of $62,001 vs $60,766. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.8% in 21755 and 47.8% in 21769. Poverty rate reads 9.0% vs 1.3%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 3.3% — 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 $529,600 in 21755 versus $507,000 in 21769, with median rent of $1,265 and $1,708 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.6% vs 87.0%. 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.