Best Places21840, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21840, 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.
21840 ranks 22,815th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 21840
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.
21840's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21840 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Household income$98,375 median, better than 79% of zip codes
Where 21840 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Short commute40.6 minutes each way, better than only 4% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21840
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21840 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $98,375, 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 21840's effective rate of 0.71%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 21840
21840 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21840.
Who works in 21840, and how
Work in 21840 centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 21840
The coast is about 1 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 21840, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21840, month by month
21840 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 37° | 30° |
| April | 67° | 57° | 48° |
| July | 87° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 70° | 61° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 21840
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21840
Schools across 21840 average a C, better than 33% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Vienna Elementary SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Dorchester Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Salisbury MiddleD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- North Dorchester High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- James M. Bennett HighB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21840 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21840 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 21840 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21840
Is 21840 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21840 ranks 22,815th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, health care access, and what local pay buys, and lowest on taxes and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 21840 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $175,900. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $98,375 median income, cost of living beats 89% of zip codes.
Is 21840 safe?
Yes, 21840 is safer than 60% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $268 per resident a year.
Compare 21840 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21840. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21840 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.
21840 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21840: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21840: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21840: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21840: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21840 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.