Best Places21628, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21628, 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.
21628 ranks 25,442nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 21628
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.
21628's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21628 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 75% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 67% of zip codes
Where 21628 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Short commute38.1 minutes each way, better than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21628
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21628 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,875, 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 21628's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21628
21628'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 21628.
Who works in 21628, and how
Work in 21628 centers on transportation & warehousing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 97%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 21628
The coast is about 30 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 21628, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21628, month by month
21628 sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 67° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 89° | 80° | 68° |
| October | 70° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 21628
The nearest airport, New Castle, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21628
Schools across 21628 average a C−, better than 22% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sudlersville Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sudlersville Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Queen Anne's County High SchoolB · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21628 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21628 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 21628 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21628
Is 21628 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21628 ranks 25,442nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, civic engagement, and big-city access, and lowest on taxes and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 21628 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $308,700. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $84,875 median income, cost of living beats 56% of zip codes.
Is 21628 safe?
Yes, 21628 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $288 per resident a year.
Compare 21628 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21628. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21628 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.
21628 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21628: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21628: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21628: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21628: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21628 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.