Best Places08081, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08081, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
08081 ranks 10,474th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 08081
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
08081's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08081 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Household income$109,670 median, better than 86% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 08081 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 9% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,342 a month, better than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08081
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08081 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $109,670, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 08081's effective rate of 2.36%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 08081
08081's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08081.
Who works in 08081, and how
Work in 08081 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 08081
08081 has more parkland per resident than 79% of zip codes. The coast is about 42 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 08081 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08081, month by month
08081 sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 08081
Philadelphia International sits about 16 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 14.8 million passengers in 2025, with 179 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 08081
Schools across 08081 average a D, better than 9% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Whitman Elementary SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Bells Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- James W. Lilley Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bunker Hill Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Ann A. Mullen Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Winslow Township Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Washington Township High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Camden County Technical School-gtcC · 32% proficient
- Timber Creek Regional High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08081 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08081 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 08081 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 08081 suits
Families
Schools land around the 9th percentile and crime safety beats 70%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 85% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 08081
Is 08081 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08081 ranks 10,474th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, few empty homes, and high incomes, and lowest on property taxes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 08081 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $288,311. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $109,670 median income, cost of living beats 85% of zip codes.
Is 08081 safe?
Yes, 08081 is safer than 70% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $176 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 08081?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 27. That works out to about 63 pleasant days a year, more than 12% of zip codes.
Is 08081 good for families?
Schools beat 9% of zip codes, crime safety beats 70%, and childcare runs $1,342 a month.
Compare 08081 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08081. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08081 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
08081 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08081: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08081: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08081: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08081: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08081 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.