Best Places08835, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08835, 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.
08835 ranks 17,960th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 08835
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.
08835's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08835 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 08835 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 54 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,549 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08835
A household needs to earn about $113,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08835 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $90,533, 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 08835'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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 08835
08835 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08835.
Who works in 08835, and how
Work in 08835 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 08835
08835 has more parkland per resident than 86% of zip codes. The coast is about 24 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 08835 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08835, month by month
08835 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 08835
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 25 miles away.
The best schools in and around 08835
Schools across 08835 average a D+, better than 14% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sunnymead Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Adamsville Primary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Roosevelt SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hillsborough Township Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Hillside Intermediate SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Alexander Batcho Intermediate SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Hillsborough High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Bridgewater-raritan High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Manville High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08835 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08835 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 08835 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08835
Is 08835 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08835 ranks 17,960th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, big-city access, and cell coverage, 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 08835 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $357,749. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $90,533 median income, cost of living beats 43% of zip codes.
Is 08835 safe?
Yes, 08835 is safer than 79% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $167 per resident a year.
Compare 08835 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08835. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08835 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.
08835 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08835: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08835: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08835: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08835: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08835 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.