ZIP 21822 vs ZIP 21826

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21822 (Eden, 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 21822 has a population of 1,930 at 26 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 21822 reports a median household income of $84,479 against $64,946 in ZIP 21826, with per-capita income of $40,057 vs $28,326. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.3% in 21822 and 36.2% in 21826. Poverty rate reads 5.3% vs 15.4%, and unemployment 13.1% 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 $277,700 in 21822 versus $223,100 in 21826, with median rent of $1,614 and $1,586 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.1% 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.