Best Places21830, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21830, 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.
21830 ranks 10,151st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on few empty homes.
The best neighborhoods in 21830
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.
21830's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21830 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Household income$104,529 median, better than 83% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 21830 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
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21830
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21830 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $104,529, 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 21830's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21830
21830 runs younger than the country, 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 21830.
Who works in 21830, and how
Work in 21830 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 21830
The coast is about 32 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 21830, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21830, month by month
21830 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 21830
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21830
Schools across 21830 average a C−, better than 28% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northwestern ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
- Westside IntermediateD+ · 23% proficient
- Pemberton ElementaryD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Delmar Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Salisbury MiddleD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- James M. Bennett HighB− · 44% proficient
- Mardela Middle & HighC · 34% proficient
- Wicomico HighC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21830 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21830 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 21830 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21830
Is 21830 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21830 ranks 10,151st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, what local pay buys, and high incomes, 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 21830 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $282,043. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $104,529 median income, cost of living beats 87% of zip codes.
Is 21830 safe?
Yes, 21830 is safer than 80% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $221 per resident a year.
Compare 21830 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21830. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21830 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.
21830 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21830: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21830: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21830: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21830: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21830 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.