21801 — Salisbury, Maryland

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 21801. Its median home value runs 44% above Salisbury as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

60out of 100
Area Score
Top 43% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity2,208th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured44
Schools1,744th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured45
GrowthTop 32% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured60
Housing affordabilityTop 49% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured68
ClimateTop 27% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured76
Physical resilienceTop 29% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
Access2,776th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured69
Economic stability2,013th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured46
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 5.9% and the Opportunity signal places 21801 in the bottom 29%. The unemployment rate is published for Salisbury, MD, which contains 21801, rather than for 21801 alone.

In the public schools here, 34% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 11.2 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 31% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.1 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
30,088
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$71,313
Bottom 49% nationally
Density
750/sq mi
40.1 sq mi of land
Median age
36.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Salisbury
Maryland
Metro area
Nearest major airport
DOV
55 mi · Dover AFB
Median home value
$327,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Salisbury, MD, which contains 21801, is 5.9% — higher than in all but 10% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Salisbury, MD, which contains 21801, fell 0.1% over the past year, to 14,943 employed residents.

33% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 71% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsWicomico County, MD’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,33712th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftWicomico County, MD’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$52,18513th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$8,9322024 ACS 5-Year$71,313Bottom 49%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,8602024 ACS 5-Year$40,266Top 38%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year14.3%Bottom 32%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.0 minTop 29%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year33.5%Top 29%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.4%52nd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentSalisbury, MD’s figureJuly 202614,943Bottom 10%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Salisbury, MD’s figureJuly 2026+0.2%Top 45%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Salisbury, MD’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Top 37%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceSalisbury, MD’s figureJuly 202615,87611th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year79.3%Top 46%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSalisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$63,770Bottom 36%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageSalisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,710Bottom 39%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%66th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Salisbury, MD’s figureJuly 2026+0.6%Bottom 14%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateSalisbury, MD’s figureJuly 20265.9%Bottom 10%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.6%44th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202471k60k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $71,313 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 — Salisbury, MD

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons1,790$33,010
Registered Nurses1,620$94,880
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,590$31,200
General and Operations Managers1,410$91,500
Cashiers1,200$31,200
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive1,150$47,140

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 Salisbury, MD, the city containing this ZIP code.

34% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 36% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.2 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
11.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
33.5%
Bottom 40% in Maryland
Reading proficiency
36.1%
Bottom 22% in Maryland
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Salisbury MiddleWicomico County Public Schools8478.828%33%
Pinehurst ElementaryWicomico County Public Schools56412.525%22%
North Salisbury ElementaryWicomico County Public Schools52612.854%58%
Pemberton ElementaryWicomico County Public Schools50611.531%34%
West SalisburyWicomico County Public Schools40913.2——
Charles H. Chipman ElementaryWicomico County Public Schools30312.6——

63.0% 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 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.6, 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 Salisbury, MD Metro Area is up 51% over five years, and up 3.4% 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 $2,818 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.86% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,378, some 24% above the $1,114 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,378 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $55,100 a year, about 77% of the median household income here of $71,313.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,114 a month.

A median home at $327,700 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $104,090, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
92.6

Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Salisbury, MD 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
31.3%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,378
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,114
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$327,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 21801’s median household income of $71,313, 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 Salisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure202392.6Top 24%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Salisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%54th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Salisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+50.8%78th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Salisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+95.8%49th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.72024 ACS 5-Year3.1Bottom 35%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year58.2%14th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5372024 ACS 5-Year12,29688th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,061Top 35%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,818Top 43%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,378Top 43%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$622024 ACS 5-Year$1,114Bottom 41%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$25,9722024 ACS 5-Year$327,70071st percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2392024 ACS 5-Year$2,81867th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$21,1052024 ACS 5-Year$104,090Top 26%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year0.86%46th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year31.3%Bottom 33%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1352024 ACS 5-Year19985th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.6%56th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%45th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3232024 ACS 5-Year94887th 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

60/ 100
Top 32% 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.

At 2.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Salisbury, MD, which contains 21801, rather than for 21801 alone.

Units permitted
92
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.8
Bottom 47% nationally
Year over year
+44%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
42.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
54%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$51,337
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$52,185
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Sussex County, DE 687 people · 16% of arrivals
  2. Worcester County, MD 638 people · 15% of arrivals
  3. Somerset County, MD 410 people · 9.7% of arrivals
  4. Baltimore County, MD 142 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  5. Dorchester County, MD 138 people · 3.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Sussex County, DE 610 people · 13% of departures
  2. Worcester County, MD 526 people · 12% of departures
  3. Somerset County, MD 498 people · 11% of departures
  4. Dorchester County, MD 145 people · 3.2% of departures
  5. Baltimore County, MD 104 people · 2.3% 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 Wicomico 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 Salisbury, 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 28°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.5 inches, including 8.0 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SALISBURY WICOMICO RGNL AP, 9.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals47.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals8.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals28°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals41°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

74 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and cold wave, with hurricane alone responsible for 47% of it. Inland flooding and cold 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 71% of measured US ZIP areas.

HurricaneElevated
WildfireModerate
DroughtModerate
Coastal floodingModerate
Strong windModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, heat wave, ice storm, earthquake, cold wave, inland flooding, tornado, landslide, hail, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

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
4.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
21.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
10.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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 21801 (Wicomico County) rather than 21801 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. Salisbury 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.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
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 Dover AFB at 55 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year86.6%Bottom 37%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle55 miBottom 11%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 40%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year10.1%Bottom 38%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dover AFBDOV55 mi9,602 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI78 mi10,503 ft
Newport News/Williamsburg IntlPHF95 mi8,003 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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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
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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.

21801 vs Salisbury

How this ZIP area compares with Salisbury 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.

21801
Salisbury
Median household income: 21801 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$71,313
vs
$58,576
Per capita income: 21801 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$40,266
vs
$30,170
Population density
750/sq mi
vs
2,410/sq mi
Median home value
$327,700
vs
$227,300
Median gross rent: 21801 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,114
vs
$1,318
Homeownership rate
58.2%
vs
27.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 21801 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
33.5%
vs
25.7%
Poverty rate: 21801 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
14.3%
vs
21.5%
Median age
36.9
vs
30.1

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.