ZIP 08223 vs ZIP 08226

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08223 (Marmora, NJ) and ZIP 08226 (Ocean City, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08223 has a population of 4,125 at 123 people per square mile, while ZIP 08226 has 11,701 at 676 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 08223 reports a median household income of $107,131 against $101,782 in ZIP 08226, with per-capita income of $50,951 vs $71,999. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 49.6% in 08223 and 56.7% in 08226. Poverty rate reads 2.6% vs 9.8%, and unemployment 1.1% vs 3.2% — 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 $420,300 in 08223 versus $840,500 in 08226, with median rent of $1,656 and $1,683 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.3% vs 72.7%. 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.