ZIP 21838 vs ZIP 21871

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21838 (Marion Station, MD) and ZIP 21871 (Westover, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21838 has a population of 1,736 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 21871 has 2,124 at 12 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 21838 reports a median household income of $88,438 against $50,524 in ZIP 21871, with per-capita income of $40,941 vs $32,758. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.8% in 21838 and 18.9% in 21871. Poverty rate reads 3.1% vs 16.7%, and unemployment 5.0% vs 6.7% — 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 $202,400 in 21838 versus $185,900 in 21871, with median rent of $1,073 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.4% vs 84.5%. 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.