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ZIP stands for Zone Improvement Plan. The codes went live on July 1, 1963.The lowest ZIP code is 00501 — the IRS in Holtsville, New York.The highest ZIP code is 99950, in Ketchikan, Alaska.Type 07734 into a calculator and turn it upside down: hELLO. It is Keansburg, New Jersey.12345 belongs to one company: General Electric in Schenectady, New York.The first digit is a region: 0 is New England and New Jersey, 9 is the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii.Mr. ZIP, the cartoon mailman, was the mascot that sold the idea to America.ZIP+4 arrived in 1983 and can narrow a ZIP down to one side of one block.A ZIP code is a mail route, not a place: plenty of them cross county and even state lines.Play ZIP Hunt: guess the secret ZIP code of the day in six tries.
zipcodes.pro — ZIP/21046

21046

ZIP 21046 is in Columbia, Maryland, in Howard County; area codes 443, 410 and 667; Eastern time. Columbia has 3 ZIP codes; the others are 21044 and 21045.

Type
Standard
Time zone
America/New_York
County
Howard
Population
15,608
Coordinates
39.1741, -76.8354
☼ Live from 21046 — Columbia, MD

Weather right now

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NEXRAD radar
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Local time: —

Where 21046 is

Approximate ZIP boundary (Census ZCTA 2020). ZIP codes are mail routes, not areas, so the shape shown is the Census tabulation area that approximates it.

★ Weird and wonderful facts about 21046
  • 🔢 Type 21046 into a pocket calculator and turn it upside down: ghOIZ — not quite a word, sorry.
  • ➕ As a number, 21,046 = 2 × 17 × 619. Its digits add up to 13, a total 1,179 other ZIP codes share.
  • 💾In binary, the way a computer stores it: 101001000110110
  • 🏠 Its numerical neighbours: 21045 (Columbia, MD, 2 mi away) and 21047 (Fallston, MD, 32 mi away).
  • 🔄 Backwards, 21046 becomes 64012 — and that is a real ZIP code: Belton, MO, 950 miles away.
  • 👥 66 other ZIP codes are made of exactly the same digits (01264, 01462, 02461, 02641, 04216, 04261, …). The farthest-flung twin is 64102 in Kansas City, MO, 951 miles away.
  • 🧭 Farther north than 50% of all ZIP codes, and farther east than 82%.
  • 🎯1,157 miles east of the geographic center of the Lower 48, near Lebanon, Kansas.
  • 🌏 Dig straight through the Earth from 21046 and you would come out at 39.17°S, 103.16°E — 869 miles from Perth, Australia, the nearest big city to that spot.
  • ☀Longest day of the year: 14h 56m of daylight. Shortest: 9h 24m.
  • 📏 At 7.8 square miles of land, 21046 is bigger than 24% of ZIP codes — room for about 5.9 Central Parks.
🌙 The sky over 21046 today
  • Working out the sun…
🌋 Shake report
  • Checking the USGS…

Source: USGS.

People and housing

Population15,608This ZIP15,608
Households6,165This ZIP6,165
Housing units6,382This ZIP6,382
Median age37.3This ZIP37.3Maryland39.4US 38.9
Median household income$127,813This ZIP$127,813Maryland$103,678US $80,734
Median home value$479,500This ZIP$479,500Maryland$419,900US $332,700
Median gross rent$2,131This ZIP$2,131Maryland$1,705US $1,413
Bachelor's degree or higher61.7%This ZIP61.7%
Mean commute23.8 minThis ZIP23.8 min
Population density1,998.5 / sq miThis ZIP1,998.5 / sq mi

Business and tax activity

Business establishments1,119This ZIP1,119
Employees39,273This ZIP39,273
Annual payroll$4,161,110,000This ZIP$4,161,110,000
Tax returns filed7,950This ZIP7,950
Total adjusted gross income$834,857,000This ZIP$834,857,000

Land area

Land area7.81 sq miThis ZIP7.81 sq mi
Water area0.06 sq miThis ZIP0.06 sq mi

Other place names in 21046

Census places whose land this ZIP code overlaps. The Postal Service may accept other city names in an address, too.

ZIP codes near 21046

ZIPCityDistance
21045 Columbia, MD 2.2 mi
20763 Savage, MD 2.7 mi
20794 Jessup, MD 2.7 mi
20723 Laurel, MD 3.1 mi
21044 Columbia, MD 3.2 mi
20701 Annapolis Junction, MD 3.8 mi
21075 Elkridge, MD 5.0 mi
20709 Laurel, MD 5.2 mi
20725 Laurel, MD 5.2 mi
20726 Laurel, MD 5.2 mi

Find every ZIP code within 10 miles of 21046 →

Questions about this ZIP code

Where is ZIP code 21046?

21046 is in Columbia, Maryland, in Howard County, part of the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metropolitan area. Its published point location is 39.1741, -76.8354.

What county is 21046 in?

21046 lies in Howard County.

What area code is 21046?

Columbia uses area codes 443, 410 and 667, from NANPA's telephone records.

What time zone is 21046 in?

21046 uses America/New_York.

How many people live in 21046?

About 15,608 people live in ZIP code 21046, in 6,165 households, at 1,998.5 people per square mile. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area, not a headcount.

What is the median household income in 21046?

$127,813 a year, against $103,678 across Maryland.

What ZIP codes are near 21046?

The closest are 21045 (2.2 mi), 20763 (2.7 mi), 20794 (2.7 mi), 20723 (3.1 mi) and 21044 (3.2 mi).

Is 21046 a PO Box ZIP code?

21046 is a standard ZIP code. A normal ZIP code with street delivery.

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Cite this page

zipcodes.pro. “21046 ZIP Code — Columbia, Maryland (Howard County).” Data release 2026-10-12. Retrieved 2026-10-20. https://zipcodes.pro/zip/21046

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