21502 Zip Code Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for the zip code 21502, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

21502 is a zip code in Allegany County, Maryland, which covers District 4, Cumberland, District 5, Wills Creek, District 6, Cumberland, District 7, Cresaptown/Bel Air, District 13, Mount Savage, District 14, Cumberland, District 16, North Branch, District 20, Corriganville/Ellerslie, District 21, Gross, District 22, Cumberland, District 23, Decatur, District 24, Eckhart, District 29, La Vale, District 31, McCoole, District 34, and Bedford Road, with a total population of 42,049 people.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in the 21502 zip code. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in 21502.

The estimated population of people living in 21502 is 42,049, with a median age of 43.

We can look back at data from previous years to see how the population in the 21502 area has changed over the last 5 years.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
42,049
+0.75%
-1.56%
2020
41,735
 -1.55% -
2019
42,391
 -0.45% -
2018
42,583
 -0.31% -
2017
42,716
 - -

Population of 21502 by Race and Ethnicity

How much has the race and ethnicity of the population in the 21502 zip code changed? The US Census Bureau gives us a few defined types that the population is broken down into.

Let's look at the total numbers and also the change over the last 5 years.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
83.2%
84.2%
 -1.19%
Black/African American
10.9%
10.5%
 +3.81%
Native
0.2%
0.2%
 0.00%
Hispanic
2%
2%
 0.00%
Asian
0.7%
0.7%
 0.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.8%
2.2%
 +27.27%
Other
0.2%
0.1%
 +100.00%

This data can be very important for anybody studying the 21502 zip for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of 21502 by Age and Gender

We can also monitor the change of the age and gender in the 21502 zip code to track track trends in the population over time.

We can see how the population in 21502 has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 43 -1.15% 40.6 -0.25% 46.7 -1.48%
2020 43.5 +0.46% 40.7 -1.93% 47.4 +3.72%
2019 43.3 +0.93% 41.5 +1.72% 45.7 -0.44%
2018 42.9 +0.94% 40.8 +2.77% 45.9 -0.86%
2017 42.5 - 39.7 - 46.3 -

The median age of the 21502 zip gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population in the 21502 area, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 2,198 0.92% 1,978 -10.81% 2,197 1,764
10 to 19 2,387 -13.19% 2,064 -1.91% 2,081 2,004
20 to 29 3,649 -5.34% 2,347 -3.8% 3,443 2,254
30 to 39 3,441 +8.67% 2,147 -7.13% 3,746 1,983
40 to 49 3,317 +3.38% 2,169 +7.23% 3,399 2,326
50 to 59 3,274 -7.07% 3,010 -18.42% 3,044 2,490
60 to 69 2,680 -3.39% 2,578 -9% 2,575 2,348
70+ 2,229 +25.47% 3,248 +9.41% 2,837 3,558

Median Household Income

The latest median household income for the 21502 zip code is $53,122.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less.

The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for 21502.

  • Under 25
    $22,125.00
  • 25 to 44
    $61,674.00
  • 45 to 64
    $66,058.00
  • 65 and over
    $40,524.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in the 21502 zip code, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in 21502, and then dividing that number by the total number of households.

This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of 21502 is currently $67,578.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

2.62% of households in 21502 are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of 21502 against other zip codes.

  • Less than $24,999
    23.25%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    23.95%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    18.53%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    15.05%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    12.40%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    4.20%
  • $200,000 or more
    2.62%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in 21502 is $27,432.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of 21502 by the total population of 21502.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people living in the 21502 area, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in 21502 to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    9.43%
  • Bachelor's degree
    22.42%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    12.26%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    53.17%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.72%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in 21502 that are over the age of 16.

Currently, the total population of the 21502 zip over the age of 16 is 35,689.

Of those people, a total of 47.60% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in 21502 is 44.30%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate. Here's how that breaks down for the 21502 zip code.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 1,686 39.70% 31.50%
20 to 24 years 2,937 64.10% 9.80%
25 to 29 years 2,760 65.40% 6.40%
30 to 34 years 2,685 54.10% 7.20%
35 to 44 years 5,669 62.30% 6.30%
45 to 54 years 5,820 63.50% 2.60%
55 to 59 years 2,814 62.20% 8.10%
60 to 64 years 2,848 41.30% 3.80%
65 to 74 years 4,684 20.00% 2.80%
75 years and over 3,786 2.40% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in 21502. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau (which we mentioned earlier in this article).

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 30,165 53.90% 6.50%
Black or African American 4,472 6.00% 22.20%
American Indian and Alaska Native 74 16.20% 0.00%
Asian 292 38.40% 20.50%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 81 24.70% 0.00%
Two or more races 605 54.00% 4.00%
Hispanic or Latino 635 53.10% 18.10%
Not Hispanic or Latino 29,677 53.70% 6.20%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations for people living in the 21502 area as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in 21502 is 15,825, with median earnings of $38,661.00.

Women in 21502 are earning approximately 74.80% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 15,825 $38,661.00
Male 8,471 $43,450.00
Female 7,354 $32,514.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings for 21502 even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 1,539 $58,197.00
Business and Financial 513 $50,066.00
Computer and Mathematical 442 $69,500.00
Architecture and Engineering 139 $86,250.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 133 $58,125.00
Community and Social Service 472 $49,130.00
Legal 138 $61,250.00
Educational and Library 687 $43,802.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 286 $29,602.00
Healthcare Practitioners 1,262 $69,038.00
Healthcare Support 753 $23,770.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 159 $42,132.00
Law Enforcement 394 $52,043.00
Food Preparation and Serving 870 $12,900.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 569 $21,672.00
Personal Care and Service 481 $26,895.00
Sales 1,096 $26,111.00
Office and Administrative Support 2,425 $31,490.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 33 $11,964.00
Construction and Extraction 898 $49,833.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 324 $32,594.00
Production 611 $33,944.00
Transportation and Material Moving 671 $50,156.00

Occupations by Gender

Now we can also look at the occupations by category for 21502 when it is broken down by male and female.

This lets us see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings for 21502.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 983 $77,950.00 556 $42,083.00
Business and Financial 203 $44,872.00 310 $50,938.00
Computer and Mathematical 364 $75,278.00 78 $44,500.00
Architecture and Engineering 121 $91,500.00 18 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 103 $58,388.00 30 $46,731.00
Community and Social Service 187 $35,972.00 285 $55,450.00
Legal 77 $85,809.00 61 $54,844.00
Educational and Library 187 $41,756.00 500 $49,500.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 183 $35,189.00 103 $29,280.00
Healthcare Practitioners 326 $109,722.00 936 $61,343.00
Healthcare Support 165 $10,650.00 588 $25,893.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 159 $42,132.00 0 $0.00
Law Enforcement 325 $52,485.00 69 $44,260.00
Food Preparation and Serving 363 $14,888.00 507 $10,742.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 367 $21,307.00 202 $23,125.00
Personal Care and Service 176 $35,909.00 305 $23,940.00
Sales 644 $33,466.00 452 $17,297.00
Office and Administrative Support 667 $39,007.00 1,758 $30,349.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 33 $11,964.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 878 $50,000.00 20 $26,875.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 312 $32,237.00 12 $0.00
Production 331 $48,417.00 280 $25,854.00
Transportation and Material Moving 616 $50,278.00 55 $23,250.00

Households and Family Size

A household is defined by the US Census Bureau as a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 16,681 households in 21502, with an average household size of 2.15 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 9,560 families living in the 21502 zip code with an average family size of 2.79 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each, that live in 21502:

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 6,948 684 1,928 7,121
Average Household Size 2.89 3.11 2.79 1.15
Total Families 6,948 684 1,928 0
Average Household Size 2.88 2.52 2.58 0

Poverty

Of the 9,560 families living in 21502, 9.50% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in 21502:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 19,460 housing units in 21502.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 16,681 85.72%
Vacant 2,779 14.28%

25.16% of the total 19,460 housing units in 21502 are rental units. This is approximately 4,896 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 11,282 are occupied by the owner - or 57.98% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in 21502 is $729.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in 21502 that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    503
  • Less than $500
    1,199
  • $500 to $999
    2,809
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    717
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    141
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    25
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    5
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in 21502 is $136,000.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in 21502 that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    1,010
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    2,513
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    2,923
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    2,629
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    1,280
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    759
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    159
  • $1,000,000 or more
    9

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in 21502. The chart below shows the number of properties in 21502 that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    6,560
  • 1940 to 1949
    1,623
  • 1950 to 1959
    2,712
  • 1960 to 1969
    3,007
  • 1970 to 1979
    2,372
  • 1980 to 1989
    1,270
  • 1990 to 1999
    957
  • 2000 to 2009
    635
  • 2010 to 2013
    324
  • 2014 or later
    0

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in 21502 that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    1,560
  • 1 vehicle available
    6,183
  • 2 vehicles available
    5,927
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    3,011

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in 21502 get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in 21502 that commute to work in a particular way.

20.8 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in 21502.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    686
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    2,468
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    3,164
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    3,518
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    1,554
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    583
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    833
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    120
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    227
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    380
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    644
  • 90 or more minutes
    467

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for 21502 in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

States in 21502

If you want to see how the population and demographics of 21502 compare to other zip codes in Maryland, check out the list of all Maryland zip codes below: