Best Places07304, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07304, 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.
07304 ranks 9,090th 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 07304
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.
07304's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07304 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
Where 07304 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,520 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Short commute37.5 minutes each way, better than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07304
A household needs to earn about $160,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07304 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $74,747, 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 07304's effective rate of 1.32%, 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 07304
07304 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 07304.
Who works in 07304, and how
Work in 07304 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 34%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 49%
Life in 07304
The coast is about 17 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 07304, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 07304, month by month
07304 sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 71° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 07304
Newark Liberty International sits about 5 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 07304
Schools across 07304 average a B−, better than 71% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Learning Community Charter SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Empowerment Academy Charter SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Julia A. Barnes SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Academy IA− · 55% proficient
- Middle School # 4C · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Dr Ronald Mcnair High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- William L Dickinson High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
- Lincoln High SchoolF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07304 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07304 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 07304 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 07304 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 17% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 07304
Is 07304 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07304 ranks 9,090th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and cell coverage, 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 07304 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $569,721. The overall cost of living runs about 23% above the national average. Set against a $74,747 median income, cost of living beats 14% of zip codes.
Is 07304 safe?
07304 is safer than 21% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $311 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 07304?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 26. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 6% of zip codes.
Is 07304 good for families?
Schools beat 71% of zip codes, crime safety beats 21%, and childcare runs $1,520 a month.
Compare 07304 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07304. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07304 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.
07304 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07304: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07304: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07304: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07304: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07304 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.