ZIP 21801 vs ZIP 21826

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21801 (Salisbury, MD) and ZIP 21826 (Fruitland, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21801 has a population of 29,961 at 274 people per square mile, while ZIP 21826 has 4,837 at 420 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 21801 reports a median household income of $71,313 against $64,946 in ZIP 21826, with per-capita income of $40,266 vs $28,326. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.5% in 21801 and 36.2% in 21826. Poverty rate reads 15.6% vs 15.4%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 3.6% — 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 $327,700 in 21801 versus $223,100 in 21826, with median rent of $1,114 and $1,586 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 58.2% vs 66.0%. 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.