Best Places07438, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07438, 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.
07438 ranks 5,711th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 07438
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.
07438's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07438 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Household income$126,586 median, better than 92% of zip codes
Where 07438 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute41.9 minutes each way, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,543 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07438
A household needs to earn about $138,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07438 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $126,586; 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 07438's effective rate of 2.33%, 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 07438
07438 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 07438.
Who works in 07438, and how
Work in 07438 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 07438
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 07438.
What the weather is like in 07438, month by month
07438 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 68° | 55° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 07438
Newark Liberty International sits about 29 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 07438
Schools across 07438 average a C−, better than 25% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Katharine D Malone Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Helen Morgan SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Arthur Stanlick Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Copeland Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Jefferson Township Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Macopin Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Academy For Environmental ScienceB · 50% proficient
- West Milford High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Jefferson Township High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07438 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07438 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 07438 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 07438
Is 07438 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07438 ranks 5,711th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, big-city access, and few empty homes, 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 07438 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $435,905. The overall cost of living runs about 7% above the national average. Set against a $126,586 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 07438 safe?
Yes, 07438 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $123 per resident a year.
Compare 07438 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07438. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07438 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.
07438 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07438: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07438: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07438: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07438: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07438 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.