Best Places20706, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20706, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
20706 ranks 20,850th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 20706
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.
20706's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20706 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Household income$111,223 median, better than 86% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 20706 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
- QuietBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20706
A household needs to earn about $115,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20706 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $111,223; 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 20706's effective rate of 1.04%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 20706
20706'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 20706.
Who works in 20706, and how
Work in 20706 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 20706
20706 has more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. The coast is about 28 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 20706 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20706, month by month
20706 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 20706
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 13 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 20706
Schools across 20706 average a D+, better than 13% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Glenarden Woods ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Robert Goddard MontessoriC+ · 39% proficient
- Greenbelt ElementaryC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kenmoor MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Greenbelt MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Ernest Everett Just MiddleD− · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Eleanor Roosevelt HighA− · 65% proficient
- Charles Herbert Flowers HighB− · 42% proficient
- Duval HighC+ · 36% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20706 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20706 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 20706 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 20706 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 13% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 20706
Is 20706 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20706 ranks 20,850th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, high incomes, and cell coverage, 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 20706 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $426,643. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $111,223 median income, cost of living beats 66% of zip codes.
Is 20706 safe?
20706 is safer than 15% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $546 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 20706?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 28. That works out to about 71 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of zip codes.
Is 20706 good for families?
Schools beat 13% of zip codes, crime safety beats 15%, and childcare runs $1,268 a month.
Compare 20706 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20706. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20706 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.
20706 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20706: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20706: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20706: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20706: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20706 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.