Best Places07062, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07062, 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.
07062 ranks 13,390th 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 07062
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.
07062's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07062 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 07062 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- School gradeD−, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,442 a month, better than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07062
A household needs to earn about $123,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07062 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,496, 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 07062's effective rate of 2.15%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 07062
07062 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 07062.
Who works in 07062, and how
Work in 07062 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 07062
The coast is about 22 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 07062, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 07062, month by month
07062 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 07062
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 07062
Schools across 07062 average a D−, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Frederic W. Cook Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Emerson Community SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- East End SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Somerset SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- North Plainfield High SchoolD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07062 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07062 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 07062 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 07062
Is 07062 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07062 ranks 13,390th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, transit, and walkability, 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 07062 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $395,880. The overall cost of living runs about 16% above the national average. Set against a $100,496 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 07062 safe?
07062 is safer than 47% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $224 per resident a year.
Compare 07062 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07062. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07062 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.
07062 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07062: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07062: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07062: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07062: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07062 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.