Best Places21236, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21236, 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.
21236 ranks 9,501st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 21236
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.
21236's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21236 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 86% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 21236 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$1,375 a month, better than only 11% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21236
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21236 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $103,002, 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 21236's effective rate of 1.13%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21236
21236's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21236.
Who works in 21236, and how
Work in 21236 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 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 21236
21236 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 89% of zip codes. The coast is about 14 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 21236 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21236, month by month
21236 sees roughly 86 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 21236
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall sits about 18 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 21236
Schools across 21236 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Chapel Hill ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Joppa View ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
- Gunpowder ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Perry Hall MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
- Parkville MiddleC− · 31% proficient
- Pine Grove MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Perry Hall HighC+ · 35% proficient
- Parkville HighD− · 17% proficient
- Overlea HighD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21236 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21236 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 21236 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 21236 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of zip codes and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 21236
Is 21236 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21236 ranks 9,501st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, few empty homes, and cell coverage, 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 21236 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $318,811. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $103,002 median income, cost of living beats 86% of zip codes.
Is 21236 safe?
21236 is safer than 34% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $365 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 21236?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 30. That works out to about 86 pleasant days a year, more than 52% of zip codes.
Is 21236 good for families?
Schools beat 35% of zip codes, crime safety beats 34%, and childcare runs $1,375 a month.
Compare 21236 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21236. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21236 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.
21236 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21236: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21236: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21236: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21236: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21236 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.