20876 — Germantown, Maryland

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 20876. Its median home value runs 15% above Germantown as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

67out of 100
Area Score
Top 20% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 44% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured57
SchoolsTop 40% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured58
Growth1,670th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured49
Housing affordabilityTop 40% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured71
ClimateTop 34% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
Physical resilienceTop 16% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured84
Access1,693rd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured91
Economic stabilityTop 15% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.7% and median household income $119,731, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Germantown, MD, which contains 20876, rather than for 20876 alone.

In the public schools here, 38% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.9 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 28% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.5 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
26,406
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$119,731
Top 9% nationally
Density
2,433/sq mi
10.9 sq mi of land
Median age
36.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Germantown
Maryland
Nearest major airport
IAD
22 mi · Washington Dulles Intl
Median home value
$487,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Germantown, MD, which contains 20876, is 3.7%, lower than in 75% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Germantown, MD, which contains 20876, fell 2.7% over the past year, to 538,171 employed residents.

52% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 89% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $119,731 is higher than in 91% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMontgomery County, MD’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$98,58884th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMontgomery County, MD’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$102,77291st percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$10,2562024 ACS 5-Year$119,731Top 9%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,4042024 ACS 5-Year$47,977Top 22%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.1%Top 38%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year33.2 minBottom 24%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year52.0%Top 11%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year57.2%11th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentGermantown, MD’s figureJuly 2026538,171Top 7%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Germantown, MD’s figureJuly 2026−4.5%Bottom 5%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Germantown, MD’s figureJuly 2026−2.7%Bottom 10%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceGermantown, MD’s figureJuly 2026559,01293rd percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year85.1%Top 20%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$91,930Top 4%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$71,060Top 5%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.7%93rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Germantown, MD’s figureJuly 2026−0.4%Top 34%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateGermantown, MD’s figureJuly 20263.7%Top 25%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year22.0%87th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024120k100k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $119,731 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
General and Operations Managers112,530$156,460
Business Operations Specialists, All Other76,600$104,770
Software Developers69,060$154,930
Retail Salespersons66,920$36,610
Management Analysts62,360$126,830
Fast Food and Counter Workers60,560$34,600

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Germantown, MD, the city containing this ZIP code.

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 44% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.9 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
37.7%
Top 49% in Maryland
Reading proficiency
44.3%
Top 49% in Maryland
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Neelsville MiddleMontgomery County Public Schools78114.510%28%
Fox Chapel ElementaryMontgomery County Public Schools61713.756%55%
William B. Gibbs Jr. ElementaryMontgomery County Public Schools60115.059%62%
Captain James E. Daly ElementaryMontgomery County Public Schools47211.519%22%
Dr. Sally K. Ride ElementaryMontgomery County Public Schools42810.229%37%
Cedar Grove ElementaryMontgomery County Public Schools32611.669%72%

51.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Maryland’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 109.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Frederick-Gaithersburg-Bethesda, MD Metropolitan Division is up 29% over five years, and up 1.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,913 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.80% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,390, some 13% above the $2,109 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,390 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $95,600 a year, about 80% of the median household income here of $119,731.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,109 a month.

A median home at $487,300 costs 3.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $140,476, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
109.5

Prices here run about 10% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,390
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,109
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$487,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 20876’s median household income of $119,731, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area’s figure2023109.5Bottom 18%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Frederick-Gaithersburg-Bethesda, MD Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+1.3%26th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Frederick-Gaithersburg-Bethesda, MD Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+29.4%14th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Frederick-Gaithersburg-Bethesda, MD Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+56.6%5th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year3.5Bottom 27%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year67.4%25th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4262024 ACS 5-Year8,93981st percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,140Bottom 11%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,020Bottom 14%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,390Bottom 13%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$832024 ACS 5-Year$2,109Bottom 6%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$26,6972024 ACS 5-Year$487,30087th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3222024 ACS 5-Year$3,91380th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$13,2672024 ACS 5-Year$140,476Top 9%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.80%42nd percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year28.2%Top 49%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±252024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year1.7%13th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1072024 ACS 5-Year15649th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

49/ 100
Ranks 1,670 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

71% of the 2,601 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Germantown, MD, which contains 20876, rather than for 20876 alone.

At 2.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Germantown, MD, which contains 20876, rather than for 20876 alone.

Units permitted
2,601
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.4
Bottom 43% nationally
Year over year
+130%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
70.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
68%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$98,588
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$102,772
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Prince George's County, MD 6,486 people · 16% of arrivals
  2. District of Columbia, DC 5,079 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Fairfax County, VA 1,651 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  4. Frederick County, MD 1,492 people · 3.6% of arrivals
  5. Howard County, MD 1,342 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Prince George's County, MD 6,334 people · 13% of departures
  2. Frederick County, MD 4,543 people · 9.0% of departures
  3. District of Columbia, DC 3,096 people · 6.2% of departures
  4. Howard County, MD 2,311 people · 4.6% of departures
  5. Fairfax County, VA 2,168 people · 4.3% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Montgomery County, MD. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Germantown, MD, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.2 inches, including 21.0 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WASHINGTON DC DULLES AP, 22.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year612024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals43.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals21.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year402024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
40
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

84 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 56% of it. Inland flooding and heat wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 84% of measured US ZIP areas.

HurricaneModerate
LightningModerate
Cold waveModerate
DroughtModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, heat wave, strong wind, hail, inland flooding, earthquake, tornado, ice storm, wildfire, coastal flooding, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
2.5
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
4.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
7.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
9.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 20876 (Montgomery County) rather than 20876 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Germantown carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Washington Dulles Intl at 22 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year95.9%Top 15%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle22 miBottom 42%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 40%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.3%Top 21%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Washington Dulles IntlIAD22 mi11,500 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI30 mi10,503 ft
Harrisburg IntlMDT73 mi10,001 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
67
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

20876 vs Germantown

How this ZIP area compares with Germantown as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

20876
Germantown
Median household income: 20876 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$119,731
vs
$117,546
Per capita income: Germantown is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$47,977
vs
$50,879
Population density
2,433/sq mi
vs
5,326/sq mi
Median home value
$487,300
vs
$422,400
Median gross rent: Germantown is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$2,109
vs
$2,040
Homeownership rate
67.4%
vs
67.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 20876 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
52.0%
vs
50.4%
Poverty rate: 20876 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
8.1%
vs
8.1%
Median age
36.8
vs
37.5

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.