Best Places21811, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21811, 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.
21811 ranks 12,345th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 21811
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.
21811's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21811 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 81% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 21811 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21811
A household needs to earn about $106,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21811 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $90,773, 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 21811's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21811
21811 runs older 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 21811.
Who works in 21811, and how
Work in 21811 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 21811
21811 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes. The coast is about 10 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 21811 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21811, month by month
21811 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 48, 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 | 48° | 38° | 28° |
| April | 66° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 87° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 62° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 21811
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21811
Schools across 21811 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ocean City ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Showell ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
- Buckingham ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Berlin IntermediateB+ · 48% proficient
- Stephen Decatur MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
- Snow Hill MiddleD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Stephen Decatur HighA · 67% proficient
- Snow Hill HighA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21811 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21811 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 21811 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 21811 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 73% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 21811
Is 21811 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21811 ranks 12,345th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, civic engagement, and low crime, and lowest on state infrastructure and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 21811 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $408,793. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $90,773 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 21811 safe?
Yes, 21811 is safer than 83% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $219 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 21811?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 28. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 31% of zip codes.
Is 21811 good for families?
Schools beat 68% of zip codes, crime safety beats 83%, and childcare runs $899 a month.
Compare 21811 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21811. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21811 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.
21811 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21811: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21811: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21811: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21811: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21811 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.