Best Places08886, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08886, 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.
08886 ranks 3,922nd 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 08886
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.
08886's strengths and weaknesses
Where 08886 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$156,119 median, better than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 08886 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute40.1 minutes each way, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,353 a month, better than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08886
A household needs to earn about $141,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08886 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $156,119, 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 08886's effective rate of 2.27%, 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 08886
08886's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 08886.
Who works in 08886, and how
Work in 08886 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 08886
08886 has more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 08886 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08886, month by month
08886 sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 41, 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 | 41° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 40° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 65° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 08886
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 50 miles away.
The best schools in and around 08886
Schools across 08886 average a C+, better than 42% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Greenwich SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Lopatcong Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Franklin Township SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stewartsville Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Lopatcong Township Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
- Warren Hills Regional Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Phillipsburg High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Warren Hills Regional High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08886 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08886 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 08886 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 08886
Is 08886 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08886 ranks 3,922nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and few empty homes, and lowest on state finances and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 08886 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $447,902. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $156,119 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 08886 safe?
Yes, 08886 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $111 per resident a year.
Compare 08886 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08886. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08886 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.
08886 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08886: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08886: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08886: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08886: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08886 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.