Best Places20772, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20772, 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.
20772 ranks 14,089th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 20772
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.
20772's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20772 ranks high
- Household income$143,712 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 20772 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute38.6 minutes each way, better than only 5% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20772
A household needs to earn about $124,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20772 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $143,712, 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 20772's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 20772
20772 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 20772.
Who works in 20772, and how
Work in 20772 centers on public administration and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 20772
20772 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 71% of zip codes. The coast is about 23 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 20772 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20772, month by month
20772 sees roughly 62 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 20772
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 14 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 20772
Schools across 20772 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mattaponi ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Longfields ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Baden ElementaryD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southern MiddleC− · 28% proficient
- James Madison MiddleD− · 18% proficient
- Kettering MiddleD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Southern HighA− · 63% proficient
- Gwynn Park HighC− · 29% proficient
- Frederick Douglass HighC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20772 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20772 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 20772 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 20772 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 23% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 20772
Is 20772 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20772 ranks 14,089th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on high incomes, what local pay buys, and few empty homes, 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 20772 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $464,260. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $143,712 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 20772 safe?
20772 is safer than 22% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $458 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 20772?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 27. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 11% of zip codes.
Is 20772 good for families?
Schools beat 8% of zip codes, crime safety beats 22%, and childcare runs $1,268 a month.
Compare 20772 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20772. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20772 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.
20772 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20772: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20772: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20772: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20772: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20772 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.