Best Places21871, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21871, 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.
21871 ranks 30,996th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on quiet.
The best neighborhoods in 21871
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.
21871's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21871 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 73% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 71% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 70% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 68% of zip codes
Where 21871 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21871
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21871 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,780, 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 21871's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21871
21871 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 21871.
Who works in 21871, and how
Work in 21871 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 21871
The coast is about 18 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 21871, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21871, month by month
21871 sees roughly 66 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 21871
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21871
Schools across 21871 average a D, better than 10% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Carter G Woodson ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Pocomoke ElementaryD− · 15% proficient
- Deal Island SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pocomoke MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Somerset 6/7 Intermediate SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Pocomoke HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Crisfield Academy And High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Washington Academy And High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21871 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21871 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 21871 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21871
Is 21871 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21871 ranks 30,996th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, big-city access, and low property taxes, and lowest on taxes and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 21871 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $179,572. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $60,780 median income, cost of living beats 29% of zip codes.
Is 21871 safe?
21871 is safer than 12% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $644 per resident a year.
Compare 21871 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21871. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21871 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.
21871 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21871: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21871: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21871: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21871: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21871 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.