Best Places20653, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20653, 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.
20653 ranks 10,272nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on what local pay buys.
The best neighborhoods in 20653
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.
20653's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20653 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Household income$105,151 median, better than 83% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 82% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Short commute21.4 minutes each way, better than 79% of zip codes
Where 20653 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 21% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20653
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20653 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $105,151, 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 20653's effective rate of 0.73%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 20653
20653 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 20653.
Who works in 20653, and how
Work in 20653 centers on public administration and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 20653
20653 has more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. The coast is about 8 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 20653 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20653, month by month
20653 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 20653
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around 20653
Schools across 20653 average a C, better than 37% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Chesapeake Charter SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Lexington Park ElementaryC+ · 40% proficient
- Town Creek ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Esperanza MiddleC · 32% proficient
- Spring Ridge MiddleC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Leonardtown HighA− · 65% proficient
- Great Mills HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20653 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20653 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 20653 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 20653 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of zip codes and 15% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 20653
Is 20653 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20653 ranks 10,272nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and big-city access, and lowest on taxes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 20653 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $352,589. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $105,151 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 20653 safe?
20653 is safer than 40% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $358 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 20653?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 30. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 21% of zip codes.
Is 20653 good for families?
Schools beat 37% of zip codes, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $973 a month.
Compare 20653 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20653. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20653 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.
20653 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20653: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20653: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20653: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20653: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20653 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.