Best Places07874, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07874, 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.
07874 ranks 3,798th 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 07874
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.
07874's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07874 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Household income$135,988 median, better than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 07874 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,439 a month, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Short commute34.2 minutes each way, better than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07874
A household needs to earn about $116,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07874 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $135,988, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 07874's effective rate of 2.41%, 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 07874
07874's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 07874.
Who works in 07874, and how
Work in 07874 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 07874
07874 has more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 07874 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 07874, month by month
07874 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 07874
Newark Liberty International sits about 32 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 07874
Schools across 07874 average a C+, better than 40% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sandshore Rd. Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Valley Road SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Byram Lakes Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mount Olive Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Byram Intermediate SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Allamuchy Township SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Mount Olive High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Hackettstown High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Lenape Valley Regional High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07874 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07874 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 07874 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 07874
Is 07874 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07874 ranks 3,798th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, big-city access, and few empty homes, and lowest on property taxes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 07874 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $365,093. The overall cost of living runs about 7% above the national average. Set against a $135,988 median income, cost of living beats 93% of zip codes.
Is 07874 safe?
Yes, 07874 is safer than 93% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $124 per resident a year.
Compare 07874 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07874. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07874 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.
07874 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07874: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07874: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07874: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07874: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07874 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.