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Mercer County · New Jersey

ZIP code 08520

Population, income, housing costs and the sales tax rate charged on purchases inside ZIP 08520 — Census 2019-2023 ACS 5-year, no modelled estimates.
Population
29,321

ZCTA residents

Median income
$116,282

Household, past 12 months

Median home
$361,800

Owner-occupied value

Sales tax
6.625%

New Jersey state rate

Quick answer

ZIP 08520 sits in Mercer County, New Jersey and is home to 29,321 people. Median household income is $116,282, the median home is worth $361,800 and median gross rent is $1,556. 69.2% of households own their home, and purchases are taxed at 6.625% (New Jersey state rate).

County
Mercer County

FIPS 34021

State
New Jersey (NJ)

598 ZIPs covered

Area codes
Not published

No NANPA match for this ZIP

Metro area
Outside covered metros

Rate jurisdiction used for tax

The numbers for 08520

American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZCTA.

Population
29,321ZIP 08520 residents
Median household income
$116,282Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value
$361,800Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent
$1,556Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age
40.7 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate
69.2%Owner-occupied households

ZIP 08520 in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

ZIP 08520 is a small city in Mercer County, New Jersey, with 29,321 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #99 of 598 ranked by population — larger than 83% of them. The median age here is 40.7 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in ZIP 08520 earn a median of $116,282 a year, 48.1% above the national figure of $78,538. The median is the midpoint household, not an average, so a handful of very high earners cannot drag it upward the way they distort a mean. Poverty reaches 5.5% of residents here, less than half the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in ZIP 08520 is valued at $361,800, 19.2% above the national figure, while median gross rent runs $1,556 a month, 10.7% above the national figure, or roughly $18,672 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 16.1% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3.1×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 69.2% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. The rent line includes utilities paid by the tenant, a definition worth remembering when comparing it against a landlord's quoted rate.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Reading ZIP 08520 in context

How 08520 sits inside Mercer County and New Jersey.

ZIP 08520 is tabulated inside Mercer County, New Jersey, one of 22 ZIP areas the Census publishes for that county and 598 across New Jersey. This is a mid-sized suburban ZIP inside a county that is split across many delivery areas. County assignment on this page follows the largest share of the ZIP's land area, which matters where a delivery route crosses a county line: mail addressed to 08520 can be handled by a post office in a neighbouring county even though the tabulation area is filed here.

Against its own county, 08520 reports a median household income of $116,282, 7% above the $108,732 county median, and 7% above the $109,182 typical NJ ZIP. Owner-occupied homes are valued at a median of $361,800, close to the county figure and 15% below the statewide ZIP median. Rent is reported gross — the contract amount plus tenant-paid utilities — at $1,556 a month, which is why it reads higher than the advertised rent on a listing for the same unit.

New Jersey charges 6.625% statewide, and no local sales tax is layered on top, so the state rate is the full amount collected in 08520.

Everything above comes from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZIP Code Tabulation Area, with sales tax rates traced to the state revenue agency. Five-year estimates pool sixty months of responses, so they are stable enough to compare 08520 with its neighbours but always trail the current year, and any value the Census suppressed for sample size is shown as unpublished rather than filled in with a model.

Sales tax in 08520

What a purchase inside this ZIP costs at checkout.

Rate applied
6.625%State base rate only
Tax on $100
$7Rounded to the dollar
Tax on $1,000
$66Before any exemptions

New Jersey levies 6.625% statewide with no local add-ons. Check the county page for the local component before you quote a price.

Affordability in this ZIP

Derived from the Census medians above — indicative, not an offer.

Rent burden
16%Median rent ÷ median income
Price-to-income
3.1×Home value ÷ household income
Est. mortgage
$1,877/mo20% down, 30-yr at 6.75%
Poverty rate
5.5%Residents below poverty line

A rent burden above 30% is the federal threshold for cost-burdened households, and a price-to-income multiple above 4× is generally considered a stretched housing market. The mortgage figure is principal and interest only — taxes, insurance and HOA dues are extra.

How 08520 compares

ZIP 08520 against the median ZIP in Mercer County and across New Jersey.

MeasureZIP 08520County medianState medianvs state
Median household income$116,282$108,732$109,182+7%
Median home value$361,800$362,250$423,950-15%
Median gross rent$1,556$1,604$1,718-9%
Population29,32115,04910,128+190%

Medians are computed across the 22 ZIP areas in Mercer County and the 598 ZIP areas in New Jersey.

Statewide rank

Where this ZIP places among all 598 New Jersey ZIP areas.

Income

richer than 57% of 563 state ZIPs

#244
Home value

above 35% of 562 state ZIPs

#367
Population

larger than 83% of 598 state ZIPs

#99

Comparable ZIP codes

New Jersey ZIP areas with almost the same household income.

ZIPCountyIncomeHome valueRent
08863Middlesex County$116,250$414,100$1,976
08829Hunterdon County$116,424$298,600$1,747
07848Sussex County$116,042$412,500$1,438
08008Ocean County$116,544$1,083,100$1,664
08053Burlington County$116,745$368,100$1,939
07657Bergen County$115,676$609,700$1,935

Nearby ZIP codes

Other ZIP codes filed under Mercer County.

Adjacent ZIP Codes

Other ZIP codes in Mercer County, New Jersey.

ZIP 08520 questions

Common questions about this ZIP code.

Where is ZIP code 08520?
ZIP 08520 lies mostly in Mercer County, New Jersey. County assignment follows the largest share of land area, so a ZIP straddling a county line is filed under its dominant county.
What sales tax do I pay in 08520?
New Jersey charges 6.625% statewide.
Is 08520 expensive to live in?
Median rent runs $1,556 a month, about 16% of median household income, and the median home is worth $361,800 — -15% against the typical New Jersey ZIP.
Is a ZCTA the same as a postal ZIP code?
Not exactly. The Census builds ZIP Code Tabulation Areas from the ZIP codes of addresses inside each census block, so a ZCTA can differ slightly from the USPS delivery route of the same number, and PO-box-only ZIPs have no ZCTA at all.

Related pages for this area.

Sources & transparency

Every figure on this page is a published estimate for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 08520, except the affordability ratios and mortgage estimate, which we derive from those medians and label as estimates.

Last reviewed December 2024. Figures are published for reference and can change; verify with the source agency before filing or contracting. How we build and check this data.