ZIP 08204 vs ZIP 08251

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08204 (Cape May, NJ) and ZIP 08251 (Villas, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08204 has a population of 18,557 at 358 people per square mile, while ZIP 08251 has 10,364 at 633 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 08204 reports a median household income of $82,466 against $83,637 in ZIP 08251, with per-capita income of $53,929 vs $42,430. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.3% in 08204 and 26.2% in 08251. Poverty rate reads 7.7% vs 9.1%, and unemployment 4.7% vs 9.4% — 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 $461,400 in 08204 versus $290,200 in 08251, with median rent of $1,176 and $1,722 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.2% vs 88.9%. 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.