Best Places20743, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20743, 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.
20743 ranks 29,948th 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 20743
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.
20743's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20743 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 20743 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- School gradeD−, better than only 3% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20743
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20743 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $82,565; 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 20743's effective rate of 1.01%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 20743
20743's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 20743.
Who works in 20743, and how
Work in 20743 centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in 20743
20743 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of zip codes. The coast is about 31 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 20743 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20743, month by month
20743 sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 20743
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 20743
Schools across 20743 average a D−, better than 3% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Capitol Heights ElementaryC · 33% proficient
- Gladys Noon Spellman ElementaryD · 16% proficient
- Lake Arbor ElementaryD− · 14% proficient
Top middle schools
- Walker Mill MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Ernest Everett Just MiddleD− · 19% proficient
- James Madison MiddleD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Charles Herbert Flowers HighB− · 42% proficient
- Largo HighD+ · 24% proficient
- Bladensburg HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20743 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20743 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 20743 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 20743 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised 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 20743
Is 20743 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20743 ranks 29,948th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and transit, and lowest on taxes and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 20743 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $340,892. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $82,565 median income, cost of living beats 28% of zip codes.
Is 20743 safe?
20743 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $969 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 20743?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 27. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of zip codes.
Is 20743 good for families?
Schools beat 3% of zip codes, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $1,268 a month.
Compare 20743 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20743. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20743 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.
20743 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20743: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20743: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20743: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20743: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20743 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.