Best Places08561, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08561, 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.
08561 ranks 1,085th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 08561
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.
08561's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08561 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 08561 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,394 a month, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08561
A household needs to earn about $200,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08561 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $163,750, 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 08561's effective rate of 1.76%, 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 08561
08561 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08561.
Who works in 08561, and how
Work in 08561 centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 08561
The coast is about 35 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 08561, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08561, month by month
08561 sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 24° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 08561
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 38 miles away.
The best schools in and around 08561
Schools across 08561 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sharon SchoolA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pond Road Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Robbinsville High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08561 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08561 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 08561 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08561
Is 08561 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08561 ranks 1,085th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, fast internet, and few empty homes, and lowest on state finances and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 08561 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $677,200. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $163,750 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 08561 safe?
08561 is safer than 43% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $232 per resident a year.
Compare 08561 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08561. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08561 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.
08561 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08561: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08561: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08561: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08561: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08561 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.