Best Places21201, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21201, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
21201 ranks 24,432nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 21201
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.
21201's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21201 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 21201 ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21201
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21201 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $53,113, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 21201's effective rate of 1.46%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21201
21201 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21201.
Who works in 21201, and how
Work in 21201 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 42%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 38%
Life in 21201
21201 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 97% of zip codes. The coast is about 12 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 21201 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21201, month by month
21201 sees roughly 95 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 39° | 33° |
| April | 68° | 59° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 71° | 63° | 56° |
Flying in and out of 21201
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 21201
Schools across 21201 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Elmer A. Henderson: A Johns Hopkins PartnershipF · 8% proficient
- The Historic Samuel Coleridge-taylor ElementaryF · 5% proficient
Top middle schools
- Vanguard Collegiate MiddleF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Baltimore School For The ArtsC+ · 37% proficient
- Joseph C. Briscoe AcademyD− · 15% proficient
- Baltimore Leadership School For Young WomenF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21201 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21201 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 21201 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21201
Is 21201 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21201 ranks 24,432nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and biking, and lowest on the schools and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 21201 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $280,767. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $53,113 median income, cost of living beats 21% of zip codes.
Is 21201 safe?
21201 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,017 per resident a year.
Compare 21201 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21201. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21201 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.
21201 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21201: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21201: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21201: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21201: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21201 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.