Best Places08102, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08102, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
08102 ranks 31,016th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 08102
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.
08102's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08102 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 08102 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08102
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08102 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $33,052; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 08102's effective rate of 2.46%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 08102
08102 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08102.
Who works in 08102, and how
Work in 08102 centers on retail trade and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 23%
Life in 08102
08102 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 08102 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08102, month by month
08102 sees roughly 66 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 08102
Philadelphia International sits about 8 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 08102
Schools across 08102 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Thomas H. Dudley Family SchoolF · 8% proficient
- Cooper's Poynt Family SchoolF · 8% proficient
- Forest Hill SchoolF · 3% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chestnut Ridge Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Washington Township High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Constitution HsD · 20% proficient
- Penn Treaty SchF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08102 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08102 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 08102 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08102
Is 08102 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08102 ranks 31,016th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, walkability, and transit, 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 08102 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $109,840. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $33,052 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 08102 safe?
08102 is safer than 7% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $484 per resident a year.
Compare 08102 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08102. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08102 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.
08102 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08102: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08102: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08102: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08102: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08102 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.