Best Places21838, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21838, 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.
21838 ranks 23,531st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in 21838
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.
21838's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21838 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 72% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 71% of zip codes
Where 21838 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21838
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21838 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,745, 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 21838's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 21838
21838 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 21838.
Who works in 21838, and how
Work in 21838 centers on other services and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 21838
The coast is about 17 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 21838, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21838, month by month
21838 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 50, 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 | 50° | 39° | 29° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 73° | 62° | 53° |
Flying in and out of 21838
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21838
Schools across 21838 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kegotank ElementaryC+ · 36% proficient
- Carter G Woodson ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Pocomoke ElementaryD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Arcadia MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Pocomoke MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Somerset 6/7 Intermediate SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Arcadia HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Pocomoke HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Crisfield Academy And High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21838 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21838 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 21838 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21838
Is 21838 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21838 ranks 23,531st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, quiet, and health care access, and lowest on taxes and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 21838 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $195,334. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $80,745 median income, cost of living beats 71% of zip codes.
Is 21838 safe?
Yes, 21838 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $294 per resident a year.
Compare 21838 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21838. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21838 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.
21838 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21838: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21838: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21838: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21838: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21838 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.