Best Places07838, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07838, 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.
07838 ranks 4,340th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 07838
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.
07838's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07838 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Household income$131,454 median, better than 93% of zip codes
Where 07838 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Short commute38.9 minutes each way, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,353 a month, better than only 12% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07838
A household needs to earn about $134,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07838 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $131,454; 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 07838's effective rate of 2.09%, 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 07838
07838 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 07838.
Who works in 07838, and how
Work in 07838 centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 07838
07838 has more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 07838 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 07838, month by month
07838 sees roughly 71 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 07838
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around 07838
Schools across 07838 average a C+, better than 39% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Frelinghuysen Township Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Central Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Hope Township SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Great Meadows Regional Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Warren Hills Regional Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Allamuchy Township SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Hackettstown High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Warren Hills Regional High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- North Warren Regional SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07838 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07838 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 07838 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 07838
Is 07838 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07838 ranks 4,340th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, big-city access, and tree cover, 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 07838 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $434,662. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $131,454 median income, cost of living beats 93% of zip codes.
Is 07838 safe?
Yes, 07838 is safer than 99% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $89 per resident a year.
Compare 07838 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07838. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07838 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.
07838 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07838: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07838: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07838: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07838: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07838 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.