Best Places08611, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08611, 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.
08611 ranks 25,735th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 08611
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.
08611's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08611 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 08611 ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08611
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08611 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,475, 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 08611's effective rate of 2.22%, 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 08611
08611 runs younger than the country, 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 08611.
Who works in 08611, and how
Work in 08611 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in 08611
08611 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. The coast is about 41 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 08611 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08611, month by month
08611 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 08611
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 35 miles away.
The best schools in and around 08611
Schools across 08611 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mac Farland IntermediateC · 34% proficient
- International Charter SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Kisthardt Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Richard C Crockett Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
- Albert E Grice Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
- Hedgepeth Williams Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Hamilton West-watsonC− · 27% proficient
- Trenton Central High School - Main CampusF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08611 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08611 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 08611 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 08611 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 08611
Is 08611 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08611 ranks 25,735th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, big-city access, and transit, and lowest on the schools and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 08611 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $147,214. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $61,475 median income, cost of living beats 16% of zip codes.
Is 08611 safe?
08611 is safer than 20% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 08611?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 24. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of zip codes.
Is 08611 good for families?
Schools beat 0% of zip codes, crime safety beats 20%, and childcare runs $1,394 a month.
Compare 08611 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08611. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08611 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.
08611 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08611: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08611: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08611: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08611: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08611 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.