Best Places08721, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08721, 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.
08721 ranks 11,005th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 08721
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.
08721's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08721 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Household income$111,299 median, better than 86% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 82% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 08721 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 51 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,478 a month, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08721
A household needs to earn about $118,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08721 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $111,299; 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 08721's effective rate of 1.54%, 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 08721
08721 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08721.
Who works in 08721, and how
Work in 08721 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 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 08721
The coast is about 16 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 08721, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08721, month by month
08721 sees roughly 51 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 90° | 77° | 65° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 08721
The nearest airport, Atlantic City International, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 54 miles away.
The best schools in and around 08721
Schools across 08721 average a D+, better than 13% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lanoka Harbor Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- H & M Potter SchoolC− · 26% proficient
- Ocean Gate Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mill Pond Elementary SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Central Regional Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Berkeley Township Elementary SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Lacey Township High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Central Regional High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08721 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08721 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 08721 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 08721 suits
Families
Schools land around the 13th percentile and crime safety beats 95%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 73% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 08721
Is 08721 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08721 ranks 11,005th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, big-city access, and high incomes, and lowest on state finances and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 08721 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $409,199. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $111,299 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 08721 safe?
Yes, 08721 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $113 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 08721?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 22. That works out to about 51 pleasant days a year, more than 1% of zip codes.
Is 08721 good for families?
Schools beat 13% of zip codes, crime safety beats 95%, and childcare runs $1,478 a month.
Compare 08721 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08721. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08721 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.
08721 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08721: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08721: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08721: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08721: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08721 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.