Best Places21802, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21802, 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.
21802 ranks 30,927th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 21802
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.
21802's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21802 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 21802 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$33,937 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of zip codes
Who lives in 21802
21802 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21802.
Who works in 21802, and how
Work in 21802 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 21802
The coast is about 32 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 21802, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21802, month by month
21802 sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 49, 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 | 49° | 38° | 28° |
| April | 70° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 73° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 21802
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21802
Schools across 21802 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Prince Street SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bennett MiddleD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- James M. Bennett HighB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21802 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21802 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 21802 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21802
Is 21802 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21802 ranks 30,927th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and biking, and lowest on a weak job market and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 21802 safe?
21802 is safer than 33% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $350 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 21802?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 28. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of zip codes.
Compare 21802 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21802. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21802 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.
21802 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21802: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21802: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21802: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21802: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21802 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.