Best Places21740, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21740, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
21740 ranks 20,494th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on walkability.
The best neighborhoods in 21740
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.
21740's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21740 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 80% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 80% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 21740 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21740
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21740 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $69,826; 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 21740's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21740
21740'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 21740.
Who works in 21740, and how
Work in 21740 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 21740
21740 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 21740 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21740, month by month
21740 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 21740
The nearest airport, Hagerstown Regional/Richard A Henson Field, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 50 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21740
Schools across 21740 average a C, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Fountaindale ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Williamsport ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
- Emma K. Doub ElementaryC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Boonsboro MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Clear Spring MiddleC · 31% proficient
- Smithsburg MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Washington County Job Development CenterA · 75% proficient
- Barbara Ingram School For The ArtsA · 70% proficient
- Boyd J. Michael Iii Technical High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21740 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21740 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 21740 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 21740 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 21740
Is 21740 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21740 ranks 20,494th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, big-city access, and low disaster risk, 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 21740 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $262,478. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $69,826 median income, cost of living beats 44% of zip codes.
Is 21740 safe?
21740 is safer than 37% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $394 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 21740?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 25. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 21% of zip codes.
Is 21740 good for families?
Schools beat 46% of zip codes, crime safety beats 37%, and childcare runs $973 a month.
Compare 21740 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21740. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21740 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.
21740 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21740: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21740: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21740: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21740: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21740 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.