Best Places07080, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07080, 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.
07080 ranks 4,777th 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 07080
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.
07080's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07080 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$131,528 median, better than 93% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 07080 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,499 a month, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07080
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07080 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $131,528; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 07080's effective rate of 1.76%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 07080
07080 runs older 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 07080.
Who works in 07080, and how
Work in 07080 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 07080
07080 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 17 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 07080 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 07080, month by month
07080 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 07080
Newark Liberty International sits about 15 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 07080
Schools across 07080 average a C, better than 37% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- John F Kennedy Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Roosevelt Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Franklin Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Plainfield Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Grant Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- South Plainfield High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07080 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07080 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 07080 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 07080 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 07080
Is 07080 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07080 ranks 4,777th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, few empty homes, and high incomes, and lowest on state finances and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 07080 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $471,273. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $131,528 median income, cost of living beats 83% of zip codes.
Is 07080 safe?
07080 is safer than 47% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 07080?
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 07080 good for families?
Schools beat 37% of zip codes, crime safety beats 47%, and childcare runs $1,499 a month.
Compare 07080 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07080. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07080 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.
07080 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07080: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07080: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07080: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07080: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07080 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.