ZIP 08221 vs ZIP 08244

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08221 (Linwood, NJ) and ZIP 08244 (Somers Point, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08221 has a population of 7,092 at 712 people per square mile, while ZIP 08244 has 10,849 at 725 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 08221 reports a median household income of $156,354 against $70,255 in ZIP 08244, with per-capita income of $75,378 vs $39,867. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 62.1% in 08221 and 34.4% in 08244. Poverty rate reads 2.0% vs 9.1%, and unemployment 7.3% vs 10.2% — 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 $394,700 in 08221 versus $310,400 in 08244, with median rent of $2,188 and $1,345 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.9% vs 51.3%. 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.