ZIP 21874 vs ZIP 21850

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21874 (Willards, MD) and ZIP 21850 (Pittsville, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21874 has a population of 2,210 at 32 people per square mile, while ZIP 21850 has 2,790 at 35 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 21874 reports a median household income of $78,393 against $79,665 in ZIP 21850, with per-capita income of $33,201 vs $41,312. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.2% in 21874 and 15.6% in 21850. Poverty rate reads 17.9% vs 11.2%, and unemployment 8.3% vs 3.9% — 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 $236,700 in 21874 versus $234,500 in 21850, with median rent of $1,460 and $748 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.4% vs 88.3%. 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.