Best Places07421, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07421, 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.
07421 ranks 8,809th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 07421
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.
07421's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07421 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$129,895 median, better than 92% of zip codes
Where 07421 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute49.1 minutes each way, better than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,458 a month, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07421
A household needs to earn about $134,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07421 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $129,895; 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 07421's effective rate of 2.53%, 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 07421
07421 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 07421.
Who works in 07421, and how
Work in 07421 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 07421
07421 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 07421 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 07421, month by month
07421 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 64° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 07421
The nearest airport, New York Stewart International, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 35 miles away.
The best schools in and around 07421
Schools across 07421 average a C−, better than 18% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sanfordville Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Paradise Knoll Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Upper Greenwood Lake Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Warwick Valley Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Martin J. Ryerson SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Macopin Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Warwick Valley High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Lakeland Regional High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- West Milford High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07421 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07421 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 07421 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 07421
Is 07421 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07421 ranks 8,809th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, tree cover, and big-city access, and lowest on property taxes and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 07421 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $415,335. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $129,895 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 07421 safe?
Yes, 07421 is safer than 76% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $159 per resident a year.
Compare 07421 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07421. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07421 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.
07421 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07421: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07421: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07421: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07421: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07421 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.