Best Places08863, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08863, 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.
08863 ranks 8,152nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 08863
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.
08863's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08863 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 08863 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,499 a month, better than only 6% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08863
A household needs to earn about $132,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08863 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $124,500; 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 08863's effective rate of 2.16%, 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 08863
08863 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08863.
Who works in 08863, and how
Work in 08863 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 08863
The coast is about 7 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 08863, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08863, month by month
08863 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 08863
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 08863
Schools across 08863 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mawbey Street Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Lafayette Estates Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Menlo Park Terrace Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dual Language SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Fords Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- John F. Kennedy Memorial High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Woodbridge High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Perth Amboy High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08863 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08863 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 08863 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08863
Is 08863 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08863 ranks 8,152nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and cell coverage, and lowest on state finances and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 08863 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $426,746. The overall cost of living runs about 16% above the national average. Set against a $124,500 median income, cost of living beats 81% of zip codes.
Is 08863 safe?
08863 is safer than 52% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $223 per resident a year.
Compare 08863 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08863. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08863 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.
08863 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08863: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08863: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08863: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08863: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08863 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.