ZIP 08244 vs ZIP 08221

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