Best Places21157, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21157, 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.
21157 ranks 7,000th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on big-city access.
The best neighborhoods in 21157
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.
21157's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21157 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Household income$111,398 median, better than 86% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 21157 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% 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
- Short commute31.7 minutes each way, better than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21157
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21157 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $111,398, 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 21157's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 21157
21157 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21157.
Who works in 21157, and how
Work in 21157 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 21157
21157 has more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 76% of zip codes. The coast is about 46 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 21157 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21157, month by month
21157 sees roughly 71 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 21157
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall sits about 31 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 21157
Schools across 21157 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Winfield ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- William Winchester ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
- Friendship Valley ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sykesville MiddleB · 46% proficient
- Oklahoma Road MiddleB · 44% proficient
- Shiloh MiddleB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Century HighA · 77% proficient
- Westminster HighA · 70% proficient
- Winters Mill HighA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21157 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21157 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 21157 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 21157 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 21157
Is 21157 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21157 ranks 7,000th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, what local pay buys, and high incomes, 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 21157 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $410,430. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $111,398 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 21157 safe?
Yes, 21157 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $310 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 21157?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 29. That works out to about 71 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of zip codes.
Is 21157 good for families?
Schools beat 68% of zip codes, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $1,253 a month.
Compare 21157 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21157. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21157 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.
21157 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21157: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21157: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21157: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21157: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21157 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.