Best Places08403, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08403, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
08403 ranks 14,672nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 08403
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.
08403's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08403 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 93% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 08403 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08403
A household needs to earn about $254,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08403 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $116,936, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 08403's effective rate of 1.16%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 08403
08403 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08403.
Who works in 08403, and how
Work in 08403 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 08403
The coast is about 0 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 08403, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08403, month by month
08403 sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 26° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 08403
The nearest airport, Atlantic City International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 54 miles away.
The best schools in and around 08403
Schools across 08403 average a B, better than 61% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- William H. Ross Iii SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Seaview Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Ocean City Primary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Belhaven Middle SchoolB+ · 47% proficient
- Eugene A. Tighe Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Fernwood Avenue Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Ocean City High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Mainland Regional High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Egg Harbor Township High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08403 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08403 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 08403 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08403
Is 08403 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08403 ranks 14,672nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, an educated workforce, and transit, and lowest on disaster risk and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 08403 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $925,751. The overall cost of living runs about 53% above the national average. Set against a $116,936 median income, cost of living beats 57% of zip codes.
Is 08403 safe?
Yes, 08403 is safer than 87% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $139 per resident a year.
Compare 08403 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08403. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08403 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.
08403 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08403: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08403: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08403: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08403: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08403 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.