Best Places08820, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08820, 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.
08820 ranks 1,560th 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 08820
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.
08820's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08820 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$173,474 median, better than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 08820 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute42.2 minutes each way, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,499 a month, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08820
A household needs to earn about $195,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08820 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $173,474, 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 08820's effective rate of 2.08%, 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 08820
08820 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 08820.
Who works in 08820, and how
Work in 08820 centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 53%
- Work from home 34%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in 08820
08820 has more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. The coast is about 13 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 08820 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08820, month by month
08820 sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 35° | 29° |
| April | 64° | 54° | 46° |
| July | 87° | 78° | 71° |
| October | 68° | 59° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 08820
Newark Liberty International sits about 13 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 08820
Schools across 08820 average a B+, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Woodbrook Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- James Madison Intermediate SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Martin Luther King Elementary SchoolA · 64% proficient
Top middle schools
- John Adams Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
- Woodrow Wilson Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Iselin Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- John P. Stevens High SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- Metuchen High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- South Plainfield High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08820 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08820 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 08820 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 08820 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 34% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 08820
Is 08820 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08820 ranks 1,560th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, high incomes, and big-city access, and lowest on state finances and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 08820 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $635,663. The overall cost of living runs about 21% above the national average. Set against a $173,474 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 08820 safe?
Yes, 08820 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $206 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 08820?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 29. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 40% of zip codes.
Is 08820 good for families?
Schools beat 80% of zip codes, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $1,499 a month.
Compare 08820 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08820. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08820 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.
08820 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08820: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08820: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08820: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08820: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08820 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.