ZIP 08079 vs ZIP 08072

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08079 (Salem, NJ) and ZIP 08072 (Quinton, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08079 has a population of 10,987 at 47 people per square mile, while ZIP 08072 has 225 at 381 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 08079 reports a median household income of $54,641 against $68,203 in ZIP 08072, with per-capita income of $36,791 vs $41,943. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.6% in 08079 and 52.3% in 08072. Poverty rate reads 15.7% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 0.0% — 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 $196,700 in 08079 versus — in 08072, with median rent of $1,113 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.5% vs 77.2%. 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.