Best Places08821, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08821, 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.
08821 ranks 996th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 08821
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.
08821's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08821 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$229,396 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
Where 08821 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 54 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,549 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08821
A household needs to earn about $213,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08821 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $229,396, 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 08821's effective rate of 1.99%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 08821
08821 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 08821.
Who works in 08821, and how
Work in 08821 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 72%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 08821
The coast is about 33 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 08821, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08821, month by month
08821 sees roughly 54 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 08821
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 30 miles away.
The best schools in and around 08821
Schools across 08821 average a B+, better than 72% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Woodfern Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hillsborough Township Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Hillsborough High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08821 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08821 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 08821 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08821
Is 08821 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08821 ranks 996th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and civic engagement, 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 08821 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $702,154. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $229,396 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 08821 safe?
Yes, 08821 is safer than 97% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $99 per resident a year.
Compare 08821 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08821. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08821 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.
08821 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08821: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08821: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08821: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08821: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08821 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.