ZIP 07208 vs ZIP 07205

This side-by-side compares ZIP 07208 (Elizabeth, NJ) and ZIP 07205 (Hillside, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 07208 has a population of 31,219 at 6,795 people per square mile, while ZIP 07205 has 21,398 at 3,000 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 07208 reports a median household income of $65,511 against $99,528 in ZIP 07205, with per-capita income of $33,812 vs $37,421. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.5% in 07208 and 27.8% in 07205. Poverty rate reads 14.4% vs 10.7%, and unemployment 9.4% vs 7.6% — 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 $459,200 in 07208 versus $397,400 in 07205, with median rent of $1,400 and $1,794 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 28.0% vs 67.3%. 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.