ZIP 21869 vs ZIP 21837

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21869 (Vienna, MD) and ZIP 21837 (Mardela Springs, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21869 has a population of 1,006 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 21837 has 2,614 at 23 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 21869 reports a median household income of $62,045 against $62,880 in ZIP 21837, with per-capita income of $34,083 vs $34,456. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.8% in 21869 and 18.0% in 21837. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 5.7%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 4.6% — 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 $232,300 in 21869 versus $227,400 in 21837, with median rent of $1,596 and $1,115 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.1% vs 87.2%. 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.