ZIP 08840 vs ZIP 08820

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