ZIP 21826 vs ZIP 21822

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21826 (Fruitland, MD) and ZIP 21822 (Eden, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21826 has a population of 4,837 at 420 people per square mile, while ZIP 21822 has 1,930 at 26 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 21826 reports a median household income of $64,946 against $84,479 in ZIP 21822, with per-capita income of $28,326 vs $40,057. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 36.2% in 21826 and 34.3% in 21822. Poverty rate reads 15.4% vs 5.3%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 13.1% — 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 $223,100 in 21826 versus $277,700 in 21822, with median rent of $1,586 and $1,614 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.0% vs 82.1%. 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.