ZIP 08735 vs ZIP 08751

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08735 (Lavallette, NJ) and ZIP 08751 (Seaside Heights, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08735 has a population of 3,114 at 693 people per square mile, while ZIP 08751 has 4,212 at 1,240 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 08735 reports a median household income of $76,974 against $77,448 in ZIP 08751, with per-capita income of $81,493 vs $57,837. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 52.4% in 08735 and 39.1% in 08751. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 21.8%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 8.0% — 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 $872,300 in 08735 versus $628,500 in 08751, with median rent of $2,026 and $1,481 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.2% vs 61.1%. 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.