Best Places08812, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08812, 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.
08812 ranks 6,327th 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 08812
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.
08812's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08812 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$148,312 median, better than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 08812 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,521 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08812
A household needs to earn about $148,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08812 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $148,312, 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 08812's effective rate of 2.35%, 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 08812
08812 runs older 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 08812.
Who works in 08812, and how
Work in 08812 centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 08812
08812 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 70% of zip codes. The coast is about 20 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 08812 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08812, month by month
08812 sees roughly 57 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 | 67° | 52° | 39° |
| July | 90° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 71° | 56° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 08812
Newark Liberty International sits about 18 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.5 million passengers in 2025, with 242 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 08812
Schools across 08812 average a C, better than 34% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Angelo L. Tomaso SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Irene E. Feldkirchner Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Bayberry SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Warren Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Green Brook Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Valley View SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Watchung Hills Regional High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Dunellen High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Middlesex High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08812 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08812 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 08812 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08812
Is 08812 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08812 ranks 6,327th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, fast internet, and high incomes, 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 08812 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $466,736. The overall cost of living runs about 16% above the national average. Set against a $148,312 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 08812 safe?
08812 is safer than 49% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $223 per resident a year.
Compare 08812 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08812. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08812 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.
08812 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08812: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08812: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08812: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08812: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08812 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.