Best Places21779, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21779, 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.
21779 ranks 12,458th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Long commutes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on what local pay buys.
The best neighborhoods in 21779
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.
21779's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21779 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Household income$106,988 median, better than 84% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 21779 ranks low
- Short commute44.0 minutes each way, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21779
A household needs to earn about $126,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21779 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $106,988, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 21779's effective rate of 0.72%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21779
21779'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 21779.
Who works in 21779, and how
Work in 21779 centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 21779
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 21779.
What the weather is like in 21779, month by month
21779 sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 45° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 21779
The nearest airport, Hagerstown Regional/Richard A Henson Field, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 34 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21779
Schools across 21779 average a C+, better than 48% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pleasant Valley ElementaryD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Boonsboro MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Barbara Ingram School For The ArtsA · 70% proficient
- Boonsboro HighB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21779 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21779 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 21779 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21779
Is 21779 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21779 ranks 12,458th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, big-city access, and high incomes, and lowest on long commutes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 21779 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $485,594. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $106,988 median income, cost of living beats 87% of zip codes.
Is 21779 safe?
Yes, 21779 is safer than 68% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $252 per resident a year.
Compare 21779 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21779. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21779 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.
21779 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21779: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21779: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21779: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21779: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21779 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.