Best Places20645, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20645, 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.
20645 ranks 8,727th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 20645
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.
20645's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20645 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$132,841 median, better than 93% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 20645 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Short commute40.5 minutes each way, better than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20645
A household needs to earn about $145,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20645 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $132,841; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 20645's effective rate of 0.74%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 20645
20645 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 20645.
Who works in 20645, and how
Work in 20645 centers on professional & technical and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 20645
The coast is about 0 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 20645, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20645, month by month
20645 sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 37° | 28° |
| April | 72° | 59° | 47° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 73° | 62° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 20645
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 39 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 20645
Schools across 20645 average a C+, better than 45% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dr. Thomas L. Higdon Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Piccowaxen Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- La Plata High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20645 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20645 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 20645 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 20645
Is 20645 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20645 ranks 8,727th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, tree cover, and high incomes, and lowest on taxes and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 20645 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $558,500. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $132,841 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 20645 safe?
Yes, 20645 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $277 per resident a year.
Compare 20645 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20645. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20645 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.
20645 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20645: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20645: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20645: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20645: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20645 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.