ZIP 08049 vs ZIP 08045

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