ZIP 08004 vs ZIP 08009

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08004 (Atco, NJ) and ZIP 08009 (Berlin, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08004 has a population of 12,350 at 383 people per square mile, while ZIP 08009 has 12,854 at 363 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 08004 reports a median household income of $111,738 against $101,184 in ZIP 08009, with per-capita income of $45,399 vs $45,542. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.8% in 08004 and 33.8% in 08009. Poverty rate reads 8.6% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 3.3% — 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 $267,600 in 08004 versus $317,900 in 08009, with median rent of $1,119 and $1,441 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.4% vs 76.1%. 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.