Best Places21875, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21875, 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.
21875 ranks 16,309th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on big-city access.
The best neighborhoods in 21875
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.
21875's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21875 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Short commute22.1 minutes each way, better than 75% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 74% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 21875 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% 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
- School gradeD+, better than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21875
A household needs to earn about $62,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21875 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,788, 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 21875's effective rate of 0.86%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21875
21875 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21875.
Who works in 21875, and how
Work in 21875 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 21875
21875 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 89% of zip codes. The coast is about 37 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 21875 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21875, month by month
21875 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 21875
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21875
Schools across 21875 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- North Salisbury ElementaryC · 33% proficient
- Northwestern ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
- East Salisbury ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Delmar Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Salisbury MiddleD · 21% proficient
- Pittsville Elementary & MiddleD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Parkside HighB− · 44% proficient
- Delmar High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Mardela Middle & HighC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21875 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21875 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 21875 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21875
Is 21875 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21875 ranks 16,309th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, a strong job market, and short commutes, 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 21875 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $233,693. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $82,788 median income, cost of living beats 71% of zip codes.
Is 21875 safe?
21875 is safer than 51% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $315 per resident a year.
Compare 21875 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21875. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21875 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.
21875 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21875: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21875: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21875: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21875: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21875 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.