Best Places08691, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08691, 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.
08691 ranks 1,898th 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 08691
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.
08691's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08691 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$167,577 median, better than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 08691 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Short commute36.4 minutes each way, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,395 a month, better than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08691
A household needs to earn about $172,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08691 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $167,577; 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 08691's effective rate of 2.11%, 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 08691
08691 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08691.
Who works in 08691, and how
Work in 08691 centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 08691
08691 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. The coast is about 34 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 08691 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08691, month by month
08691 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 08691
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around 08691
Schools across 08691 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sharon SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Newell Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Langtree Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pond Road Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Stonebridge Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Emily C. Reynolds Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Robbinsville High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Allentown High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Hamilton East - SteinertC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08691 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08691 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 08691 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08691
Is 08691 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08691 ranks 1,898th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, high incomes, and what local pay buys, 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 08691 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $559,455. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $167,577 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 08691 safe?
Yes, 08691 is safer than 88% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $159 per resident a year.
Compare 08691 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08691. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08691 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.
08691 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08691: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08691: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08691: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08691: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08691 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.