Best Places08832, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08832, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
08832 ranks 31,037th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 08832
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.
08832's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08832 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 84% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 08832 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08832
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08832 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $49,288, 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 08832's effective rate of 1.79%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 08832
08832 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08832.
Who works in 08832, and how
Work in 08832 centers on other services and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 26%
Life in 08832
The coast is about 5 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 08832, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08832, month by month
08832 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 08832
Newark Liberty International sits about 14 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 08832
Schools across 08832 average a C−, better than 27% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Harry S. Truman Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Lafayette Estates Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Menlo Park Terrace Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sayreville Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Dual Language SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Fords Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Metuchen High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- John F. Kennedy Memorial High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Sayreville War Memorial High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08832 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08832 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 08832 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08832
Is 08832 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08832 ranks 31,037th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and cell coverage, and lowest on noise and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 08832 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $271,200. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $49,288 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 08832 safe?
08832 is safer than 41% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $230 per resident a year.
Compare 08832 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08832. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08832 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.
08832 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08832: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08832: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08832: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08832: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08832 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.