ZIP 08829 vs ZIP 08809

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08829 (High Bridge, NJ) and ZIP 08809 (Clinton, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08829 has a population of 3,725 at 584 people per square mile, while ZIP 08809 has 6,421 at 386 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 08829 reports a median household income of $112,467 against $131,250 in ZIP 08809, with per-capita income of $54,297 vs $57,905. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 49.3% in 08829 and 53.7% in 08809. Poverty rate reads 3.4% vs 3.7%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 3.4% — 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 $336,500 in 08829 versus $420,500 in 08809, with median rent of $1,831 and $1,782 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.2% vs 78.1%. 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.