21804 — Salisbury, Maryland
Area Profile
Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 21804. Its median household income runs 25% above Salisbury as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 14 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 5.9% and the Opportunity signal places 21804 in the bottom 27%. The unemployment rate is published for Salisbury, MD, which contains 21804, rather than for 21804 alone.
In the public schools here, 35% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.4 students for every teacher.
Rent takes 30% of renter income here, at the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.5 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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Salisbury, MD, which contains 21804, is 5.9% — higher than in all but 10% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.
Employment across Salisbury, MD, which contains 21804, fell 0.1% over the past year, to 14,943 employed residents.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsWicomico County, MD’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $51,337 | 12th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftWicomico County, MD’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $52,185 | 13th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$6,3972024 ACS 5-Year | $73,156 | Top 48%of 31,049 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,4322024 ACS 5-Year | $35,152 | Bottom 45%of 32,822 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.6% | Bottom 35%of 32,846 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 23.8 min | Top 28%of 32,887 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 28.2% | Top 38%of 33,193 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 78.6% | 60th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentSalisbury, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | 14,943 | Bottom 10%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Salisbury, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.2% | Top 45%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Salisbury, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | −0.1% | Top 37%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceSalisbury, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | 15,876 | 11th percentileof 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 83.7% | Top 26%of 32,883 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageSalisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $63,770 | Bottom 36%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageSalisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $48,710 | Bottom 39%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.5% | 72nd percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Salisbury, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.6% | Bottom 14%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateSalisbury, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | 5.9% | Bottom 10%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.4% | 27th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Salisbury, MD
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 1,790 | $33,010 |
| Registered Nurses | 1,620 | $94,880 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 1,590 | $31,200 |
| General and Operations Managers | 1,410 | $91,500 |
| Cashiers | 1,200 | $31,200 |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 1,150 | $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.
35% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 42% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 13.4 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James M. Bennett High | Wicomico County Public Schools | 1,474 | 15.5 | 52% | 55% |
| Wicomico High | Wicomico County Public Schools | 1,304 | 14.2 | 32% | 52% |
| Parkside High | Wicomico County Public Schools | 1,272 | 11.8 | 46% | 54% |
| Prince Street School | Wicomico County Public Schools | 976 | 15.3 | 23% | 21% |
| Wicomico Middle | Wicomico County Public Schools | 827 | 11.2 | 18% | 27% |
| Beaver Run School | Wicomico County Public Schools | 741 | 14.5 | — | — |
| East Salisbury Elementary | Wicomico County Public Schools | 486 | 12.8 | 32% | 31% |
| Glen Avenue School | Wicomico County Public Schools | 386 | 10.4 | 25% | 25% |
| Wicomico County Evening High | Wicomico County Public Schools | 35 | 3.2 | 10% | 10% |
64.5% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →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 $1,937 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.79% 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, close to the $1,432 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 75% of the median household income here of $73,156.
The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,432 a month.
A median home at $243,700 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $97,132, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
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.
The figures above are measured against 21804’s median household income of $73,156, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Salisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure2023 | 92.6 | Top 24%of 2,737 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Salisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +3.4% | 54th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Salisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +50.8% | 78th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Salisbury, MD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +95.8% | 49th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 2.5 | Top 42%of 29,275 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 51.4% | 10th percentileof 32,750 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±5462024 ACS 5-Year | 17,049 | 94th percentileof 33,460 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,061 | Top 35%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,818 | Top 43%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,378 | Top 43%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$772024 ACS 5-Year | $1,432 | Bottom 24%of 26,396 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$9,9982024 ACS 5-Year | $243,700 | 57th percentileof 30,812 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$782024 ACS 5-Year | $1,937 | 49th percentileof 28,935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$7,5862024 ACS 5-Year | $97,132 | Top 33%of 29,802 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.79% | 41st percentileof 24,099 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.6% | Bottom 42%of 26,247 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±942024 ACS 5-Year | 105 | 76th percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.6% | 43rd percentileof 32,961 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.3% | 52nd percentileof 32,788 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±4012024 ACS 5-Year | 1,342 | 92nd percentileof 33,772 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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 21804, rather than for 21804 alone.
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Sussex County, DE 687 people · 16% of arrivals
- Worcester County, MD 638 people · 15% of arrivals
- Somerset County, MD 410 people · 9.7% of arrivals
- Baltimore County, MD 142 people · 3.4% of arrivals
- Dorchester County, MD 138 people · 3.3% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Sussex County, DE 610 people · 13% of departures
- Worcester County, MD 526 people · 12% of departures
- Somerset County, MD 498 people · 11% of departures
- Dorchester County, MD 145 people · 3.2% of departures
- 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.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 47.5" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 8.0" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 28°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 88°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 7 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 41°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
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.
Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, cold wave, heat wave, ice storm, earthquake, inland flooding, strong wind, 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.
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 21804 (Wicomico County) rather than 21804 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 56 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 90.7% | Top 43%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 56 mi | Bottom 10%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 4 | Bottom 40%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.4% | Top 35%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover AFB | DOV | 56 mi | 9,602 ft |
| Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood Marshall | BWI | 85 mi | 10,503 ft |
| Atlantic City Intl | ACY | 94 mi | 10,001 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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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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.
21804 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.
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.