ZIP 08817 vs ZIP 08904

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08817 (Edison, NJ) and ZIP 08904 (Highland Park, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08817 has a population of 44,621 at 1,605 people per square mile, while ZIP 08904 has 13,982 at 2,964 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 08817 reports a median household income of $110,808 against $104,694 in ZIP 08904, with per-capita income of $47,123 vs $58,731. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 50.6% in 08817 and 69.8% in 08904. Poverty rate reads 6.3% vs 7.5%, and unemployment 7.8% vs 4.8% — 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 $431,100 in 08817 versus $471,700 in 08904, with median rent of $2,030 and $1,873 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.8% vs 40.3%. 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.