ZIP 21916 vs ZIP 21921

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21916 (Childs, MD) and ZIP 21921 (Elkton, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21916 has a population of 37 at 157 people per square mile, while ZIP 21921 has 44,471 at 182 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 21916 reports a median household income of — against $85,775 in ZIP 21921, with per-capita income of — vs $40,249. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is — in 21916 and 28.8% in 21921. Poverty rate reads — vs 13.6%, and unemployment — vs 4.5% — 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 — in 21916 versus $330,400 in 21921, with median rent of — and $1,421 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is — vs 69.8%. 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.