Best Places07036, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07036, 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.
07036 ranks 15,025th 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 07036
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.
07036's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07036 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 07036 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,432 a month, better than only 9% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07036
A household needs to earn about $130,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07036 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $94,887, 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 07036's effective rate of 2.16%, 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 07036
07036's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 07036.
Who works in 07036, and how
Work in 07036 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 07036
07036 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 86% of zip codes. The coast is about 15 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 07036 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 07036, month by month
07036 sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 35° | 29° |
| April | 64° | 54° | 46° |
| July | 87° | 78° | 71° |
| October | 68° | 59° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 07036
Newark Liberty International sits about 6 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 07036
Schools across 07036 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ps 26 Carteret School (the)A · 68% proficient
- Hillside Avenue SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Newbury Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- William F. Halloran School No.22B− · 40% proficient
- Howell Township Middle School SouthC · 34% proficient
- Howell Township Middle School NorthC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Cranford High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Arthur L. Johnson High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Carteret High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07036 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07036 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 07036 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 07036 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 07036
Is 07036 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07036 ranks 15,025th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and transit, 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 07036 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $419,175. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $94,887 median income, cost of living beats 47% of zip codes.
Is 07036 safe?
07036 is safer than 41% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $247 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 07036?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 29. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 40% of zip codes.
Is 07036 good for families?
Schools beat 8% of zip codes, crime safety beats 41%, and childcare runs $1,432 a month.
Compare 07036 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07036. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07036 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.
07036 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07036: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07036: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07036: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07036: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07036 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.