Best Places20712, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20712, 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.
20712 ranks 21,588th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 20712
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.
20712's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20712 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 20712 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- School gradeD−, better than only 4% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20712
A household needs to earn about $141,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20712 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $75,544, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 20712's effective rate of 1.09%, 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 20712
20712's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 20712.
Who works in 20712, and how
Work in 20712 centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in 20712
20712 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of zip codes. The coast is about 32 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 20712 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20712, month by month
20712 sees roughly 73 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 20712
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 8 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 20712
Schools across 20712 average a D−, better than 4% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mt Rainier ElementaryD− · 14% proficient
- Thomas S. Stone ElementaryF · 8% proficient
- Chillum ElementaryF · 7% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hyattsville MiddleD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Northwestern HighD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20712 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20712 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 20712 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 20712
Is 20712 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20712 ranks 21,588th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, biking, and cell coverage, and lowest on taxes and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 20712 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $519,746. The overall cost of living runs about 19% above the national average. Set against a $75,544 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 20712 safe?
20712 is safer than 8% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $653 per resident a year.
Compare 20712 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20712. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20712 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.
20712 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20712: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20712: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20712: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20712: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20712 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.