Best Places21043, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21043, 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.
21043 ranks 1,764th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 21043
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.
21043's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21043 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$158,493 median, better than 97% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 21043 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,737 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 10% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21043
A household needs to earn about $163,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21043 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $158,493; 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 21043's effective rate of 1.08%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21043
21043'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 21043.
Who works in 21043, and how
Work in 21043 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 21043
21043 has more parkland per resident than 74% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 68% of zip codes. The coast is about 21 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 21043 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21043, month by month
21043 sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 26° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 69° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 21043
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall sits about 9 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.3 million passengers in 2025, with 114 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 21043
Schools across 21043 average a B+, better than 75% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Worthington ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Ilchester ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
- Northfield ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ellicott Mills MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Patapsco MiddleB · 44% proficient
- Dunloggin MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Centennial HighA+ · 84% proficient
- Mount Hebron HighA · 74% proficient
- Howard HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21043 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21043 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 21043 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 21043 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 28% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 21043
Is 21043 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21043 ranks 1,764th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and an educated workforce, 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 21043 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $599,625. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $158,493 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 21043 safe?
Yes, 21043 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $285 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 21043?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 26. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 10% of zip codes.
Is 21043 good for families?
Schools beat 75% of zip codes, crime safety beats 59%, and childcare runs $1,737 a month.
Compare 21043 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21043. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21043 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.
21043 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21043: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21043: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21043: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21043: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21043 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.