Best Places20901, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20901, 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.
20901 ranks 6,093rd 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 20901
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.
20901's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20901 ranks high
- Household income$150,283 median, better than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 20901 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
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20901
A household needs to earn about $151,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20901 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $150,283; 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 20901's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 20901
20901's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 20901.
Who works in 20901, and how
Work in 20901 centers on professional & technical 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 59%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 20901
20901 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. The coast is about 36 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 20901 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20901, month by month
20901 sees roughly 70 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 20901
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 12 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 20901
Schools across 20901 average a C+, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sligo Creek ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Pine Crest ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Forest Knolls ElementaryC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Eastern MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
- Silver Spring International MiddleC · 32% proficient
- Sligo MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Montgomery Blair HighA− · 60% proficient
- James Hubert Blake HighB+ · 51% proficient
- Springbrook HighB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 20901 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
20901 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 20901 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 20901 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 29% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 20901
Is 20901 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20901 ranks 6,093rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on high incomes, few empty homes, 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 20901 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $574,751. The overall cost of living runs about 25% above the national average. Set against a $150,283 median income, cost of living beats 89% of zip codes.
Is 20901 safe?
20901 is safer than 12% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $582 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 20901?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 28. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 25% of zip codes.
Is 20901 good for families?
Schools beat 46% of zip codes, crime safety beats 12%, and childcare runs $1,745 a month.
Compare 20901 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20901. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20901 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.
20901 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20901: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20901: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20901: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20901: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20901 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.