Best Places21651, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21651, 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.
21651 ranks 25,507th 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 21651
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.
21651's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21651 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 67% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 65% of zip codes
Where 21651 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
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21651
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21651 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $72,795; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 21651's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21651
21651 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21651.
Who works in 21651, and how
Work in 21651 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 21651
21651 has more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. The coast is about 30 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 21651 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21651, month by month
21651 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 21651
The nearest airport, New Castle, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 44 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21651
Schools across 21651 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Clayton Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Galena Elementary SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- H. H. Garnett ElementaryD− · 14% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sudlersville Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Kent County Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Queen Anne's County High SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Kent County HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21651 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21651 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 21651 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21651
Is 21651 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21651 ranks 25,507th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, civic engagement, and big-city 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 21651 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $288,555. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $72,795 median income, cost of living beats 40% of zip codes.
Is 21651 safe?
21651 is safer than 36% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $367 per resident a year.
Compare 21651 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21651. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21651 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.
21651 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21651: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21651: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21651: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21651: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21651 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.