ZIP 21920 vs ZIP 21916

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21920 (Elk Mills, MD) and ZIP 21916 (Childs, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21920 has a population of 257 at 199 people per square mile, while ZIP 21916 has 37 at 157 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 21920 reports a median household income of $124,146 against — in ZIP 21916, with per-capita income of $34,843 vs —. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.4% in 21920 and — in 21916. Poverty rate reads 10.0% vs —, and unemployment 0.0% vs — — 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 $356,000 in 21920 versus — in 21916, with median rent of $1,346 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.4% vs —. 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.