Best Places08736, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08736, 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.
08736 ranks 3,566th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 08736
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.
08736's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08736 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$168,317 median, better than 98% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 08736 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,493 a month, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08736
A household needs to earn about $246,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08736 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $168,317, 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 08736's effective rate of 1.23%, 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 08736
08736 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08736.
Who works in 08736, and how
Work in 08736 centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 08736
08736 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. The coast is about 4 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 08736 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08736, month by month
08736 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 64° | 53° | 42° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 08736
John F Kennedy International sits about 39 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 31.0 million passengers in 2025, with 249 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 08736
Schools across 08736 average a B−, better than 52% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Allenwood Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Old Mill Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Manasquan Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wall Intermediate SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Manasquan High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Wall High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08736 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08736 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 08736 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08736
Is 08736 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08736 ranks 3,566th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, high incomes, and fast internet, and lowest on state finances and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 08736 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $888,725. The overall cost of living runs about 30% above the national average. Set against a $168,317 median income, cost of living beats 94% of zip codes.
Is 08736 safe?
Yes, 08736 is safer than 85% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $150 per resident a year.
Compare 08736 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08736. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08736 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.
08736 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08736: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08736: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08736: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08736: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08736 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.