Best Places21784, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21784, 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.
21784 ranks 2,618th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 21784
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.
21784's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21784 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$145,408 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 21784 ranks low
- 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
- Short commute34.0 minutes each way, better than only 13% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,282 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21784
A household needs to earn about $136,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21784 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $145,408, 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 21784's effective rate of 0.88%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21784
21784's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21784.
Who works in 21784, and how
Work in 21784 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 21784
21784 has more parkland per resident than 72% of zip codes. The coast is about 38 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 21784 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21784, month by month
21784 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 35° | 29° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 47° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 70° | 60° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 21784
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall sits about 22 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.3 million passengers in 2025, with 114 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 21784
Schools across 21784 average a B+, better than 81% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- West Friendship ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Bushy Park ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
- Freedom District ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mount View MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- Glenwood MiddleB · 46% proficient
- Sykesville MiddleB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Glenelg HighA+ · 82% proficient
- Marriotts Ridge HighA+ · 80% proficient
- Century HighA · 77% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21784 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21784 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 21784 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 21784 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 97% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 22% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 21784
Is 21784 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21784 ranks 2,618th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and few empty homes, 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 21784 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $513,966. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $145,408 median income, cost of living beats 97% of zip codes.
Is 21784 safe?
Yes, 21784 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $295 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 21784?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 29. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 30% of zip codes.
Is 21784 good for families?
Schools beat 81% of zip codes, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $1,282 a month.
Compare 21784 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21784. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21784 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.
21784 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21784: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21784: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21784: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21784: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21784 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.