Best Places21082, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21082, 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.
21082 ranks 3,031st 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 21082
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.
21082's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21082 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$164,864 median, better than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 21082 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,377 a month, better than only 11% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21082
A household needs to earn about $150,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21082 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $164,864, 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 21082's effective rate of 0.84%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 21082
21082'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 21082.
Who works in 21082, and how
Work in 21082 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 21082
The coast is about 28 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 21082, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21082, month by month
21082 sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 36° | 30° |
| April | 65° | 56° | 47° |
| July | 88° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 69° | 60° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 21082
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall sits about 24 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 21082
Schools across 21082 average a B−, better than 55% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Carroll Manor ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Kingsville ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Pine Grove ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Perry Hall MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
- Cockeysville MiddleC · 34% proficient
- Pine Grove MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Perry Hall HighC+ · 35% proficient
- Loch Raven HighC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21082 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21082 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 21082 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21082
Is 21082 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21082 ranks 3,031st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and health care access, 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 21082 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $571,461. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $164,864 median income, cost of living beats 99% of zip codes.
Is 21082 safe?
21082 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $288 per resident a year.
Compare 21082 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21082. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21082 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.
21082 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21082: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21082: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21082: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21082: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21082 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.