Best Places07012, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07012, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
07012 ranks 5,922nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 07012
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
07012's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07012 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 07012 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,458 a month, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07012
A household needs to earn about $169,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07012 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $130,108, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 07012's effective rate of 2.10%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 07012
07012 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 07012.
Who works in 07012, and how
Work in 07012 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in 07012
07012 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. The coast is about 28 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 07012 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 07012, month by month
07012 sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 07012
Newark Liberty International sits about 11 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.5 million passengers in 2025, with 242 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 07012
Schools across 07012 average a C−, better than 19% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Oak View Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- School #9C · 34% proficient
- School #13C− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Woodrow Wilson Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Bloomfield Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Christopher Columbus Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Clifton High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07012 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07012 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 07012 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 07012
Is 07012 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07012 ranks 5,922nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, fast internet, and few empty homes, and lowest on state finances and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 07012 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $550,100. The overall cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. Set against a $130,108 median income, cost of living beats 87% of zip codes.
Is 07012 safe?
07012 is safer than 40% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $239 per resident a year.
Compare 07012 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07012. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07012 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
07012 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07012: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07012: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07012: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07012: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07012 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.