ZIP 08869 vs ZIP 08807

This side-by-side compares ZIP 08869 (Raritan, NJ) and ZIP 08807 (Bridgewater, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 08869 has a population of 6,881 at 1,333 people per square mile, while ZIP 08807 has 37,972 at 574 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 08869 reports a median household income of $107,672 against $168,696 in ZIP 08807, with per-capita income of $58,776 vs $69,090. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 44.5% in 08869 and 60.8% in 08807. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 4.0%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 3.8% — 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 $456,900 in 08869 versus $591,200 in 08807, with median rent of $2,112 and $2,176 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 49.9% vs 83.2%. 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.