ZIP 08734 vs ZIP 08721

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08734 (Lanoka Harbor, NJ) and ZIP 08721 (Bayville, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08734 has a population of 7,651 at 516 people per square mile, while ZIP 08721 has 20,512 at 510 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 08734 reports a median household income of $116,000 against $105,273 in ZIP 08721, with per-capita income of $47,126 vs $46,662. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.4% in 08734 and 28.2% in 08721. Poverty rate reads 2.1% vs 6.7%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 7.9% — 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 $442,000 in 08734 versus $383,900 in 08721, with median rent of $1,568 and $1,675 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.8% vs 85.5%. 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.