Best Places07940, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07940, 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.
07940 ranks 596th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 07940
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.
07940's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07940 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$164,502 median, better than 97% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 07940 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,554 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07940
A household needs to earn about $273,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07940 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $164,502, 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 07940's effective rate of 1.48%, 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 07940
07940 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 07940.
Who works in 07940, and how
Work in 07940 centers on finance & insurance and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in 07940
07940 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. The coast is about 30 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 07940 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 07940, month by month
07940 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 63° | 52° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 07940
Newark Liberty International sits about 14 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 07940
Schools across 07940 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lafayette Avenue SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Southern Boulevard SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Torey J. Sabatini SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chatham Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Madison Junior SchoolA− · 52% proficient
- Ridgedale Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Chatham High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Madison High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Hanover Park High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07940 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07940 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 07940 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 07940
Is 07940 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07940 ranks 596th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, big-city access, and an educated workforce, 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 07940 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $955,186. The overall cost of living runs about 23% above the national average. Set against a $164,502 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 07940 safe?
Yes, 07940 is safer than 80% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $160 per resident a year.
Compare 07940 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07940. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07940 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.
07940 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07940: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07940: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07940: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07940: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07940 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.