ZIP 07205 vs ZIP 07208

This side-by-side compares ZIP 07205 (Hillside, NJ) and ZIP 07208 (Elizabeth, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 07205 has a population of 21,398 at 3,000 people per square mile, while ZIP 07208 has 31,219 at 6,795 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 07205 reports a median household income of $99,528 against $65,511 in ZIP 07208, with per-capita income of $37,421 vs $33,812. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.8% in 07205 and 22.5% in 07208. Poverty rate reads 10.7% vs 14.4%, and unemployment 7.6% vs 9.4% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $397,400 in 07205 versus $459,200 in 07208, with median rent of $1,794 and $1,400 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.3% vs 28.0%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.