Best Places21914, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 21914, 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.
21914 ranks 25,918th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 21914
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.
21914's strengths and weaknesses
Where 21914 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 21914 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 21914
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 21914 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $89,351; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 21914's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 21914
21914 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 21914.
Who works in 21914, and how
Work in 21914 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 21914
The coast is about 2 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 21914, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 21914, month by month
21914 sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 67° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 89° | 80° | 68° |
| October | 70° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 21914
The nearest airport, New Castle, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 44 miles away.
The best schools in and around 21914
Schools across 21914 average a C, better than 28% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Charlestown ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Perryville MiddleD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Perryville HighB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 21914 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
21914 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 21914 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 21914
Is 21914 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 21914 ranks 25,918th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, big-city access, and an educated workforce, and lowest on a weak job market and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 21914 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $340,500. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $89,351 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 21914 safe?
21914 is safer than 45% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $315 per resident a year.
Compare 21914 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 21914. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 21914 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.
21914 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 21914: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 21914: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 21914: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 21914: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
21914 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.