Best Places20612, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20612, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
20612 ranks 6,090th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 20612
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
20612's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20612 ranks high
- Household income$167,418 median, better than 98% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 20612 ranks low
- Short commute45.6 minutes each way, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20612
A household needs to earn about $153,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20612 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $167,418, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 20612's effective rate of 1.02%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 20612
20612's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 20612.
Who works in 20612, and how
Work in 20612 centers on public administration and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 20612
The coast is about 15 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 20612, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20612, month by month
20612 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 39° | 30° |
| April | 70° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 74° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of 20612
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 30 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 20612
Schools across 20612 average a D+, better than 15% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- T. C. Martin Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- John Hanson Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- St. Charles High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20612 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20612 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 20612 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 20612
Is 20612 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20612 ranks 6,090th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on high incomes, a strong job market, and what local pay buys, and lowest on long commutes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 20612 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $566,900. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $167,418 median income, cost of living beats 95% of zip codes.
Is 20612 safe?
Yes, 20612 is safer than 71% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $241 per resident a year.
Compare 20612 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20612. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20612 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
20612 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20612: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20612: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20612: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20612: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20612 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.