ZIP 21921 vs ZIP 21901

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21921 (Elkton, MD) and ZIP 21901 (North East, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21921 has a population of 44,471 at 182 people per square mile, while ZIP 21901 has 15,875 at 125 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 21921 reports a median household income of $85,775 against $113,719 in ZIP 21901, with per-capita income of $40,249 vs $48,933. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.8% in 21921 and 36.3% in 21901. Poverty rate reads 13.6% vs 9.6%, and unemployment 4.5% vs 6.6% - 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 $330,400 in 21921 versus $367,400 in 21901, with median rent of $1,421 and $1,465 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.8% vs 73.1%. 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.