Best Places20886, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20886, 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.
20886 ranks 12,200th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 20886
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.
20886's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20886 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 20886 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 20886
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20886 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $110,125, 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 20886's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 20886
20886'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 20886.
Who works in 20886, and how
Work in 20886 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 20886
20886 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. The coast is about 44 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 20886 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20886, month by month
20886 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 20886
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 20886
Schools across 20886 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Laytonsville ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
- Judith A. Resnik ElementaryC− · 25% proficient
- Goshen ElementaryD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Redland MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
- Gaithersburg MiddleD · 23% proficient
- Neelsville MiddleD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Col. Zadok Magruder HighB · 48% proficient
- Watkins Mill HighC · 34% proficient
- Gaithersburg HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20886 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20886 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 20886 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 20886 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 20% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 20886
Is 20886 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20886 ranks 12,200th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, transit, and big-city access, 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 20886 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $387,943. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $110,125 median income, cost of living beats 67% of zip codes.
Is 20886 safe?
20886 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $498 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 20886?
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 20886 good for families?
Schools beat 12% of zip codes, crime safety beats 18%, and childcare runs $1,745 a month.
Compare 20886 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20886. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20886 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.
20886 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20886: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20886: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20886: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20886: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20886 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.