Postal Codes

08536 ZIP Code

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ZIP code 08536 covers Plainsboro, New Jersey, with a population of about 20,558 and a median household income of $128,426.

Population
20,5582,739 per square mile
Median age
36.72 points below the US average
Median household income
$128,4261.3× the New Jersey median
Poverty rate
2.3%10.1 points below the US average
Typical home value
$670,734up 42.7% in five years
Median rent
$1,9081.2× the New Jersey median
Degree or higher
79.2%44.2 points above the US average
Homeownership
44.1%20.9 points below the US average
Time zone
Eastern UTC-05:00observes daylight saving time
Businesses
442

Where 08536 is

Plainsboro, New Jersey — the area the Census Bureau draws for this ZIP code. ZIP codes are sets of delivery routes rather than areas, so this is the Census approximation of one, not a Postal Service boundary.

People and households

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Population20,558
Median age36.7
Family households64.2%
Born outside the US51.3%
Speaks a language other than English at home58.2%
White (non-Hispanic)25.8%
Black (non-Hispanic)6.6%
Asian (non-Hispanic)60%
Hispanic or Latino4.9%
Veterans1.3%
Population by age
MaleFemale0-45-910-1415-1920-2425-3435-4445-5455-6465-7475-8485+
Income and poverty

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median household income$128,426
Income per person$72,629
Poverty rate2.3%
Households on SNAP or cash assistance2.7%

Household income distribution

Under $10k1.3%
$10–15k0.3%
$15–20k0.3%
$20–25k1.0%
$25–30k0.8%
$30–35k1.2%
$35–40k1.1%
$40–45k2.1%
$45–50k1.8%
$50–60k3.5%
$60–75k8.5%
$75–100k10.6%
$100–125k16.5%
$125–150k10.4%
$150–200k13.4%
$200k or more27.2%

Income as declared to the IRS

Filed returns rather than survey responses, so this counts tax units and not households.

Tax returns filed9,470
Mean adjusted gross income$153,752
Returns declaring $200,000 or more21%
Returns, under $25k15.6%
Returns, $25k–$50k13.7%
Returns, $50k–$75k14.5%
Returns, $75k–$100k11.4%
Returns, $100k–$200k23.8%
Returns, $200k or more21.0%
Housing

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median home value$655,100
Median gross rent$1,908
Rent as a share of household income23.4%
Owner-occupied44.1%
Vacant homes3.7%
Median year built1985

What the homes are

Detached house30.5%
Attached house8.3%
2 to 4 units10.8%
5 to 19 units41.7%
20 or more units8.7%
Home values and rents today

Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index, courtesy of Zillow. Monthly and current, where the Census figures above are a five-year average and are capped at $2,000,000.

Typical home value$670,734as of 2026-07
Typical home value, 1 yearup 1.2%
Typical home value, 5 yearsup 42.7%
Typical home value, 10 yearsup 67.4%
Typical asking rent$2,131as of 2026-07
Typical asking rent, 1 yeardown 0.3%
Typical asking rent, 5 yearsup 25.3%
Typical home value since 2000
200020132026$670,734$202,081

$202,081 in 2000 to $670,734 in 2026.

Typical asking rent
202020232026$2,139$1,512

$1,512 in 2020 to $2,131 in 2026.

Work, commuting and education

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Unemployment rate4.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher79.2%
High school diploma or higher98.1%
Works from home32.1%
Drives to work alone56.9%
Takes public transport6.3%
Commutes 45 minutes or more24.5%
Health

CDC PLACES 2025 release, model-based estimates. These are modelled small-area estimates for adults, not counts of diagnosed cases.

Obesity21.8% 11.6 pts below the national average of 33.4%
Diagnosed diabetes7.7% 4.3 pts below the national average of 12%
Currently smokes5.6% 7.6 pts below the national average of 13.2%
High blood pressure24.4% 9.7 pts below the national average of 34.1%
Fair or poor general health9.5% 10.8 pts below the national average of 20.3%
No health insurance (18–64)5% 6.3 pts below the national average of 11.3%
Depression10.6% 11.3 pts below the national average of 21.9%
No leisure-time physical activity16.9% 8.5 pts below the national average of 25.4%
Arthritis13.2% 11.9 pts below the national average of 25.1%
Binge drinking14.8% 1.2 pts below the national average of 16%
Taking blood pressure medication71.5% 3.2 pts below the national average of 74.7%
Cancer (non-skin)4.4% 3.3 pts below the national average of 7.7%
Current asthma7% 3.4 pts below the national average of 10.4%
Coronary heart disease2.7% 3.5 pts below the national average of 6.2%
Routine check-up in past year78.1% 1.4 pts above the national average of 76.7%
Cholesterol screening90.4% 4.5 pts above the national average of 85.9%
Cognitive disability6.9% 7.9 pts below the national average of 14.8%
Colorectal screening60.7% 3.6 pts below the national average of 64.3%
COPD2% 4.6 pts below the national average of 6.6%
Visited a dentist73.8% 12.5 pts above the national average of 61.3%
Any disability14.4% 16.3 pts below the national average of 30.7%
Lacks emotional support23.7% 1.1 pts below the national average of 24.8%
Food insecurity7.3% 9.8 pts below the national average of 17.1%
Received food stamps2.8% 11.5 pts below the national average of 14.3%
Hearing disability2.9% 3.8 pts below the national average of 6.7%
High cholesterol34.6% 1.6 pts below the national average of 36.2%
Housing insecurity6.6% 7.2 pts below the national average of 13.8%
Independent living disability3.3% 5.1 pts below the national average of 8.4%
Lacks transport4.2% 5 pts below the national average of 9.2%
Loneliness32.7% 1.7 pts below the national average of 34.4%
Mammography use78.2% 2.3 pts above the national average of 75.9%
Poor mental health (14+ days)11.1% 5.7 pts below the national average of 16.8%
Mobility disability5.2% 8.8 pts below the national average of 14%
Poor physical health (14+ days)6.8% 6.7 pts below the national average of 13.5%
Self-care disability1.4% 2.6 pts below the national average of 4%
Utility shut-off threat3.4% 5.4 pts below the national average of 8.8%
Sleeps under 7 hours36.9% 0.5 pts above the national average of 36.4%
Stroke1.5% 1.9 pts below the national average of 3.4%
All natural teeth lost4% 9 pts below the national average of 13%
Vision disability2.3% 3.3 pts below the national average of 5.6%
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Business and employment

Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2022

Business establishments442
People employed15,837
Annual payroll$2,007,338,000
Natural hazard risk

FEMA National Risk Index, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data — the NRI is not published per ZIP.

Overall riskHigher than 81% of US census tracts
FEMA ratingVery Low to Relatively High across the 5 census tracts this ZIP code covers
Expected annual loss86.4 out of 100
Community resilience35.7 out of 100

By hazard

Score is out of 100 and is the area-weighted average across the census tracts this ZIP code covers. The rating beside it is the highest any one of those tracts carries.

River flooding93.6Very High at its worst in this ZIP code
Drought88.7Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Strong wind87.3Very High at its worst in this ZIP code
Ice storm84.4Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Winter weather84.4Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Hurricane74Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Earthquake69.5Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Wildfire65.4Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Landslide63.9Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Heat wave51Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Cold wave50.1Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Tornado49.3Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Hail27Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Lightning23.5Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Compared with New Jersey and the United States

State and national columns are figures for those areas, not for this ZIP code. American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

This ZIPNew JerseyUnited States
Median household income$128,426$101,050$78,538
Income per person$72,629$53,118$43,289
Poverty rate2.3%9.8%12.4%
Median home value$655,100$427,600$303,400
Median gross rent$1,908$1,653$1,348
Homeownership44.1%63.7%65%
Bachelor's degree or higher79.2%42.9%35%
Unemployment rate4.7%6.2%5.2%
Works from home32.1%15%13.5%
Born outside the US51.3%23.5%13.9%
Median age36.740.138.7
Climate

NOAA US Climate Normals 1991-2020, from the nearest weather station with a full year of records. The station and its distance are named above, because a station forty kilometres away describes somewhere else.

Weather stationHIGHTSTOWN 2 W, NJ US7.3 km away
Rain in a year47 in
Snow in a year24 in

Average high and low by month

January40.5°F / 21.4°F3.46 in rain, 5.8 in snow
February43°F / 22.7°F2.61 in rain, 8 in snow
March50.9°F / 29.7°F4.28 in rain, 4.6 in snow
April62.9°F / 39°F3.67 in rain, 0.6 in snow
May72.8°F / 48.4°F4.07 in rain
June81.7°F / 57.8°F4.63 in rain
July86.7°F / 63°F4.82 in rain
August84.9°F / 60.8°F4.29 in rain
September78.3°F / 53.8°F4.15 in rain
October66.4°F / 42.2°F3.98 in rain
November55.3°F / 33°F3.26 in rain, 0.3 in snow
December45.5°F / 26.6°F4.23 in rain, 4.4 in snow
Access to food

USDA Food Access Research Atlas, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Each figure is the share of the ZIP code's land area that falls in a tract carrying that flag.

Low income and far from a supermarketNone of this ZIP code
Far from a supermarket94% of this ZIP code's area
No vehicle and far from a supermarketNone of this ZIP code
School districts

NCES Geographic Relationship File 2025, which states the association between each district and each ZIP code tabulation area directly. Elementary and secondary districts can cover the same ground, so shares need not total 100%.

West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District100% of this ZIP code's land area
Community and walkability

CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 and the EPA National Walkability Index, both estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Vulnerability figures are national percentile ranks, not measurements.

Overall social vulnerability21more vulnerable than 21% of US census tracts
Socioeconomic status10more vulnerable than 10% of US census tracts
Household characteristics14more vulnerable than 14% of US census tracts
Racial and ethnic minority status78more vulnerable than 78% of US census tracts
Housing type and transport45more vulnerable than 45% of US census tracts
Walkability12 out of 20Above average
Nearby ZIP codes

The closest ZIP codes by centre point, which is not the same as sharing a border.

08852 Monmouth Junction, NJ6.2 km away
08512 Cranbury, NJ6.2 km away
08528 Kingston, NJ6.6 km away
08540 Princeton, NJ7.2 km away
08544 Princeton, NJ7.4 km away
08810 Dayton, NJ7.4 km away
08541 Princeton, NJ7.9 km away
08542 Princeton, NJ8 km away
Location, counties and time zone

County shares from Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files. Time zone from the USDOT National Transportation Atlas, which renders the boundaries written into 49 CFR Part 71.

Middlesex County100% of this ZIP code's land area
Time zoneEastern (UTC-05:00 standard)
Daylight saving timeObserved
Land area7.51 sq mi
Water area0.18 sq mi
Population density2,739 people per sq mi
Latitude, longitude40.3324, -74.5688

Figures are published for this ZIP code or its Census tabulation area unless a section says otherwise. Estimates whose margin of error made them unreliable are omitted rather than shown. Sources: US Census Bureau, CDC, IRS.

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