ZIP 21797 vs ZIP 21723

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21797 (Woodbine, MD) and ZIP 21723 (Cooksville, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21797 has a population of 8,839 at 79 people per square mile, while ZIP 21723 has 803 at 102 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 21797 reports a median household income of $189,241 against $241,250 in ZIP 21723, with per-capita income of $70,998 vs $72,952. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 51.5% in 21797 and 82.3% in 21723. Poverty rate reads 2.4% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 4.2% 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 $735,600 in 21797 versus $1,005,500 in 21723, with median rent of $1,535 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.7% vs 95.3%. 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.