ZIP 08045 vs ZIP 08049

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08045 (Lawnside, NJ) and ZIP 08049 (Magnolia, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08045 has a population of 2,909 at 863 people per square mile, while ZIP 08049 has 5,350 at 1,641 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 08045 reports a median household income of $71,607 against $103,191 in ZIP 08049, with per-capita income of $43,919 vs $49,797. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.0% in 08045 and 29.2% in 08049. Poverty rate reads 20.4% vs 6.5%, and unemployment 11.4% vs 6.5% — 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 $240,700 in 08045 versus $242,000 in 08049, with median rent of $1,073 and $1,427 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.7% vs 74.4%. 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.