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Charles County · Maryland

ZIP code 20646

Population, income, housing costs and the sales tax rate charged on purchases inside ZIP 20646 — Census 2019-2023 ACS 5-year, no modelled estimates.
Population
21,601

ZCTA residents

Median income
$130,008

Household, past 12 months

Median home
$435,100

Owner-occupied value

Sales tax
6%

Maryland state rate

Quick answer

ZIP 20646 sits in Charles County, Maryland and is home to 21,601 people. Median household income is $130,008, the median home is worth $435,100 and median gross rent is $1,486. 85.1% of households own their home, and purchases are taxed at 6% (Maryland state rate).

County
Charles County

FIPS 24017

State
Maryland (MD)

477 ZIPs covered

Area codes
Not published

No NANPA match for this ZIP

Metro area
Outside covered metros

Rate jurisdiction used for tax

The numbers for 20646

American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZCTA.

Population
21,601ZIP 20646 residents
Median household income
$130,008Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value
$435,100Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent
$1,486Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age
43.4 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate
85.1%Owner-occupied households

ZIP 20646 in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

ZIP 20646 is a mid-size town in Charles County, Maryland, with 21,601 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #119 of 477 ranked by population — larger than 75% of them. The median age here is 43.4 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in ZIP 20646 earn a median of $130,008 a year, 65.5% above the national figure of $78,538. Median household income counts every pre-tax dollar arriving at an address — wages, self-employment, Social Security, pensions, interest and public assistance — for everyone living there, so multi-earner households pull the figure up even where individual pay is modest. Poverty reaches 4% of residents here, less than half the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in ZIP 20646 is valued at $435,100, 43.4% above the national figure, while median gross rent runs $1,486 a month, 5.7% above the national figure, or roughly $17,832 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 13.7% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3.3×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 85.1% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, an owner-dominated market where rental listings are scarce and rent medians rest on a thin sample. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Reading ZIP 20646 in context

How 20646 sits inside Charles County and Maryland.

ZIP 20646 is tabulated inside Charles County, Maryland, one of 22 ZIP areas the Census publishes for that county and 477 across Maryland. This is a mid-sized suburban ZIP inside a county that is split across many delivery areas. County assignment on this page follows the largest share of the ZIP's land area, which matters where a delivery route crosses a county line: mail addressed to 20646 can be handled by a post office in a neighbouring county even though the tabulation area is filed here.

Against its own county, 20646 reports a median household income of $130,008, 4% above the $124,733 county median, and 25% above the $104,338 typical MD ZIP. Owner-occupied homes are valued at a median of $435,100, close to the county figure and 9% above the statewide ZIP median. Rent is reported gross — the contract amount plus tenant-paid utilities — at $1,486 a month, which is why it reads higher than the advertised rent on a listing for the same unit.

Maryland charges 6% statewide, and no local sales tax is layered on top, so the state rate is the full amount collected in 20646.

Everything above comes from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZIP Code Tabulation Area, with sales tax rates traced to the state revenue agency. Five-year estimates pool sixty months of responses, so they are stable enough to compare 20646 with its neighbours but always trail the current year, and any value the Census suppressed for sample size is shown as unpublished rather than filled in with a model.

Sales tax in 20646

What a purchase inside this ZIP costs at checkout.

Rate applied
6%State base rate only
Tax on $100
$6Rounded to the dollar
Tax on $1,000
$60Before any exemptions

Maryland levies 6% statewide with no local add-ons. Check the county page for the local component before you quote a price.

Affordability in this ZIP

Derived from the Census medians above — indicative, not an offer.

Rent burden
14%Median rent ÷ median income
Price-to-income
3.3×Home value ÷ household income
Est. mortgage
$2,258/mo20% down, 30-yr at 6.75%
Poverty rate
4%Residents below poverty line

A rent burden above 30% is the federal threshold for cost-burdened households, and a price-to-income multiple above 4× is generally considered a stretched housing market. The mortgage figure is principal and interest only — taxes, insurance and HOA dues are extra.

How 20646 compares

ZIP 20646 against the median ZIP in Charles County and across Maryland.

MeasureZIP 20646County medianState medianvs state
Median household income$130,008$124,733$104,338+25%
Median home value$435,100$429,800$401,000+9%
Median gross rent$1,486$1,803$1,600-7%
Population21,6012,2204,995+332%

Medians are computed across the 22 ZIP areas in Charles County and the 477 ZIP areas in Maryland.

Statewide rank

Where this ZIP places among all 477 Maryland ZIP areas.

Income

richer than 72% of 428 state ZIPs

#121
Home value

above 59% of 425 state ZIPs

#173
Population

larger than 75% of 477 state ZIPs

#119

Comparable ZIP codes

Maryland ZIP areas with almost the same household income.

ZIPCountyIncomeHome valueRent
20723Howard County$129,870$508,000$1,986
21666Queen Anne's County$130,426$478,500$1,755
20690St. Mary's County$129,236$558,900$1,490
21638Queen Anne's County$130,804$491,000$1,630
20616Charles County$129,188$345,400$2,110
20765Anne Arundel County$131,023$480,600—

Nearby ZIP codes

Other ZIP codes filed under Charles County.

Adjacent ZIP Codes

Other ZIP codes in Charles County, Maryland.

ZIP 20646 questions

Common questions about this ZIP code.

Where is ZIP code 20646?
ZIP 20646 lies mostly in Charles County, Maryland. County assignment follows the largest share of land area, so a ZIP straddling a county line is filed under its dominant county.
What sales tax do I pay in 20646?
Maryland charges 6% statewide.
Is 20646 expensive to live in?
Median rent runs $1,486 a month, about 14% of median household income, and the median home is worth $435,100 — +9% against the typical Maryland ZIP.
Is a ZCTA the same as a postal ZIP code?
Not exactly. The Census builds ZIP Code Tabulation Areas from the ZIP codes of addresses inside each census block, so a ZCTA can differ slightly from the USPS delivery route of the same number, and PO-box-only ZIPs have no ZCTA at all.

Related pages for this area.

Sources & transparency

Every figure on this page is a published estimate for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 20646, except the affordability ratios and mortgage estimate, which we derive from those medians and label as estimates.

Last reviewed December 2024. Figures are published for reference and can change; verify with the source agency before filing or contracting. How we build and check this data.