Best Places07026, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07026, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
07026 ranks 14,564th 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 07026
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.
07026's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07026 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 07026 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,508 a month, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07026
A household needs to earn about $143,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07026 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $85,686, 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 07026's effective rate of 1.75%, 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 07026
07026 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 07026.
Who works in 07026, and how
Work in 07026 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in 07026
07026 has more parkland per resident than 68% of zip codes. The coast is about 26 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 07026 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 07026, month by month
07026 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 07026
Newark Liberty International sits about 13 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 07026
Schools across 07026 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Woodrow Wilson School #5C− · 29% proficient
- Washington Irving School #4C− · 27% proficient
- Thomas Jefferson School #9D+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Garfield Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Christopher Columbus Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Wood-ridge Jr/sr High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Wallington Junior Senior High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Clifton High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07026 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07026 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 07026 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 07026 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 07026
Is 07026 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07026 ranks 14,564th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, fast internet, and walkability, and lowest on state finances and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 07026 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $483,492. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $85,686 median income, cost of living beats 25% of zip codes.
Is 07026 safe?
07026 is safer than 38% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $248 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 07026?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 26. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 5% of zip codes.
Is 07026 good for families?
Schools beat 12% of zip codes, crime safety beats 38%, and childcare runs $1,508 a month.
Compare 07026 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07026. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07026 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.
07026 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07026: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07026: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07026: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07026: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07026 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.