Best Places21804, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21804, 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.
21804 ranks 21,587th 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 21804
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.
21804's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21804 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 76% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 21804 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21804
A household needs to earn about $62,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21804 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,097, 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 21804's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21804
21804 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21804.
Who works in 21804, and how
Work in 21804 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 21804
21804 has more parkland per resident than 86% of zip codes. The coast is about 33 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 21804 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21804, month by month
21804 sees roughly 60 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 21804
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 21804
Schools across 21804 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Fruitland IntermediateD+ · 21% proficient
- Snow Hill ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Glen Avenue SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Snow Hill MiddleD+ · 24% proficient
- Bennett MiddleD · 23% proficient
- Salisbury MiddleD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Snow Hill HighA− · 60% proficient
- Parkside HighB− · 44% proficient
- James M. Bennett HighB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21804 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21804 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 21804 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 21804 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 21804
Is 21804 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21804 ranks 21,587th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, biking, and big-city access, 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 21804 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $238,418. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $71,097 median income, cost of living beats 46% of zip codes.
Is 21804 safe?
21804 is safer than 30% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $403 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 21804?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 28. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of zip codes.
Is 21804 good for families?
Schools beat 12% of zip codes, crime safety beats 30%, and childcare runs $821 a month.
Compare 21804 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21804. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21804 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.
21804 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21804: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21804: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21804: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21804: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21804 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.