Best Places08628, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08628, 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.
08628 ranks 8,020th 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 08628
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.
08628's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08628 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 08628 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter 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
What it costs to buy a home in 08628
A household needs to earn about $113,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08628 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $107,254; 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 08628's effective rate of 2.45%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 08628
08628 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 08628.
Who works in 08628, and how
Work in 08628 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 08628
08628 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. The coast is about 44 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 08628 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08628, month by month
08628 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 08628
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 35 miles away.
The best schools in and around 08628
Schools across 08628 average a D+, better than 14% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bear Tavern Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Francis Lore Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- The Village Charter SchoolD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Timberlane Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Gilmore J Fisher Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Hopewell Valley Central High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Ewing High SchoolC− · 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 08628 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08628 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 08628 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08628
Is 08628 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08628 ranks 8,020th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, few empty homes, and population health, 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 08628 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $351,207. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $107,254 median income, cost of living beats 86% of zip codes.
Is 08628 safe?
Yes, 08628 is safer than 69% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $187 per resident a year.
Compare 08628 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08628. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08628 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.
08628 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08628: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08628: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08628: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08628: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08628 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.