Best Places08850, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08850, 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.
08850 ranks 3,204th 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 08850
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.
08850's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08850 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$157,822 median, better than 97% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 08850 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,499 a month, better than only 6% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08850
A household needs to earn about $159,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08850 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $157,822; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 08850's effective rate of 2.42%, 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 08850
08850's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08850.
Who works in 08850, and how
Work in 08850 centers on health care & social and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 08850
08850 has more parkland per resident than 83% of zip codes. The coast is about 15 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 08850 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08850, month by month
08850 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 08850
Newark Liberty International sits about 22 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 08850
Schools across 08850 average a C−, better than 26% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Warnsdorfer Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Parkview SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- ParsonsD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hammarskjold Upper Elementary SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Joyce Kilmer SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Linwood SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- East Brunswick High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- North Brunswick Township High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08850 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08850 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 08850 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08850
Is 08850 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08850 ranks 3,204th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, high incomes, and fast internet, 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 08850 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $498,264. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $157,822 median income, cost of living beats 95% of zip codes.
Is 08850 safe?
08850 is safer than 47% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $231 per resident a year.
Compare 08850 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08850. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08850 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.
08850 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08850: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08850: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08850: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08850: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08850 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.