Best Places20879, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20879, 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.
20879 ranks 10,533rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 20879
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.
20879's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20879 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 94% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 20879 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,745 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 9% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20879
A household needs to earn about $121,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20879 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $119,679; 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 20879's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 20879
20879 runs younger than the country, 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 20879.
Who works in 20879, and how
Work in 20879 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 20879
The coast is about 45 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 20879, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20879, month by month
20879 sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 69° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 77° | 66° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 20879
Washington Dulles International sits about 21 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 13.9 million passengers in 2025, with 200 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 20879
Schools across 20879 average a C−, better than 19% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Fox Chapel ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Laytonsville ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
- Judith A. Resnik ElementaryC− · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Shady Grove MiddleC · 32% proficient
- Redland MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
- Gaithersburg MiddleD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Clarksburg HighB+ · 54% proficient
- Col. Zadok Magruder HighB · 48% proficient
- Watkins Mill HighC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20879 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20879 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 20879 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 20879 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 20879
Is 20879 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20879 ranks 10,533rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, biking, and transit, and lowest on taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 20879 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $461,617. The overall cost of living runs about 16% above the national average. Set against a $119,679 median income, cost of living beats 77% of zip codes.
Is 20879 safe?
20879 is safer than 20% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $475 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 20879?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 25. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 9% of zip codes.
Is 20879 good for families?
Schools beat 19% of zip codes, crime safety beats 20%, and childcare runs $1,745 a month.
Compare 20879 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20879. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20879 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.
20879 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20879: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20879: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20879: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20879: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20879 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.