ZIP 08820 vs ZIP 08840

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08820 (Edison, NJ) and ZIP 08840 (Metuchen, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08820 has a population of 39,590 at 1,475 people per square mile, while ZIP 08840 has 16,558 at 1,985 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 08820 reports a median household income of $171,363 against $146,635 in ZIP 08840, with per-capita income of $66,131 vs $65,960. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 71.7% in 08820 and 62.2% in 08840. Poverty rate reads 3.0% vs 3.9%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 6.3% — 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 $630,200 in 08820 versus $560,100 in 08840, with median rent of $2,081 and $2,058 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.7% vs 76.3%. 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.