Best Places21048, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21048, 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.
21048 ranks 4,132nd 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 21048
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.
21048's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21048 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$139,104 median, better than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 21048 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Short commute36.3 minutes each way, better than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,253 a month, better than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21048
A household needs to earn about $127,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21048 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $139,104, 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 21048's effective rate of 0.79%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 21048
21048 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21048.
Who works in 21048, and how
Work in 21048 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 21048
21048 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. The coast is about 40 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 21048 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21048, month by month
21048 sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 35° | 29° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 47° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 70° | 60° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 21048
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall sits about 26 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 21048
Schools across 21048 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Freedom District ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
- Spring Garden ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Sandymount ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oklahoma Road MiddleB · 44% proficient
- Shiloh MiddleB− · 39% proficient
- Westminster West MiddleC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Liberty HighA · 70% proficient
- Westminster HighA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21048 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21048 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 21048 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21048
Is 21048 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21048 ranks 4,132nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, civic engagement, and what local pay buys, and lowest on taxes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 21048 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $488,064. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $139,104 median income, cost of living beats 97% of zip codes.
Is 21048 safe?
21048 is safer than 52% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $301 per resident a year.
Compare 21048 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21048. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21048 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.
21048 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21048: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21048: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21048: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21048: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21048 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.