EVER wonder how well off the neighbors are? The accompanying map will give you an indication based on how much taxable interest people in New Jersey receive.

The data for 2002, the latest year for which figures are available, provides a window into Americans' wealth broken down by ZIP code, the smallest geographic unit for which the Internal Revenue Service discloses income data.

(A table with the average taxable income and average interest income in New Jersey, listed by ZIP code, is available at www.nytimes.com/regionals.)

Wealth is much more concentrated at the top than overall income, three-fourths of which comes from wages. Indeed, fewer than half of American taxpayers reported any interest income.

In some New Jersey ZIP codes, nearly 9 in 10 people reported receiving interest, while in others the opposite was true. For instance, in the Mantoloking ZIP code, 08738, and the Cape May Point ZIP code, 08212, interest income was reported by 87 percent of taxpayers, compared with only 10 percent in a Camden ZIP code, 08102.

The concentration of wealth can be seen by comparing the top and bottom New Jersey ZIP codes for adjusted gross income, reported on the last line of the front page of Form 1040 tax returns, and taxable interest income, reported on line 8a of the tax form.

The wealthiest ZIP code reported 65 times as much income for each taxpayer as the poorest, but 4,375 times as much taxable interest income.

The highest average adjusted gross income reported was $566,541, in the Morristown ZIP code 07976, known as New Vernon. The lowest was $8,750, in a Trenton ZIP code, 08625. The second-lowest adjusted gross income was $17,901, in a Camden ZIP code, 08102 -- meaning that taxpayers in New Vernon had 32 times the income of those in that part of Camden.

In terms of interest income, the New Jersey ZIP code reporting the highest amount was 07962, in Morristown, at $152,449, while second-highest was 07931, in Far Hills, at $26,124. The area reporting the least amount of interest income was the ZIP code 08608, in Trenton, at $35. The ratio of the second highest to the bottom was 746 to 1.

The data shows the average taxable interest income from bank accounts, corporate bonds, privately held mortgages and other private loans.

The figures come from the master files of the I.R.S., so they are actual figures reported on tax returns, not statistical estimates. Because banks and other financial institutions report interest payments to the I.R.S., this data is a highly reliable measure of taxable interest income.

Chart/Map: ''The Geography Of Wealth''
Average interest income per taxpayer in each ZIP code in 2002

3rd: 08073
AVG. INCOME: $314,103

Lowest: 08608
AVG. INCOME: $23,087

2nd: 07931
Far Hills
AVG. INCOME: $327,918

1st: 07962
AVG. INCOME: $389,652

(Source by I.R.S. Statistics of Income)

Map of New Jersey highlighting average interest income per taxpayer in each ZIP code in 2002.