Best Places21746, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21746, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
21746 ranks 27,525th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 21746
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.
21746's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21746 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 21746 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute43.5 minutes each way, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
Who lives in 21746
21746 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21746.
Life in 21746
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 21746.
What the weather is like in 21746, month by month
21746 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 21746
The nearest airport, Hagerstown Regional/Richard A Henson Field, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 45 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21746
Schools across 21746 average a C+, better than 55% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Rockland Woods ElementaryC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Boonsboro MiddleC · 33% proficient
- E. Russell Hicks MiddleD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Barbara Ingram School For The ArtsA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21746 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21746 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 21746 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21746
Is 21746 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21746 ranks 27,525th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, quiet, and big-city access, and lowest on education levels and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 21746 safe?
21746 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $989 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 21746?
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.
Compare 21746 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21746. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21746 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.
21746 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21746: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21746: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21746: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21746: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21746 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.
- 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.