Best Places07974, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 07974, 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.
07974 ranks 1,062nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 07974
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.
07974's strengths and weaknesses
Where 07974 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$162,502 median, better than 97% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 07974 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,432 a month, better than only 9% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Short commute31.4 minutes each way, better than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 07974
A household needs to earn about $231,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 07974 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $162,502, 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 07974's effective rate of 1.95%, 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 07974
07974 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 07974.
Who works in 07974, and how
Work in 07974 centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 07974
07974 has more parkland per resident than 78% of zip codes. The coast is about 28 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 07974 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 07974, month by month
07974 sees roughly 71 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 07974
Newark Liberty International sits about 12 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 07974
Schools across 07974 average an A−, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lafayette Avenue SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Allen W. Roberts SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Southern Boulevard SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- New Providence Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
- Columbia Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Chatham High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- New Providence High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Governor Livingston High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 07974 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
07974 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 07974 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 07974
Is 07974 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 07974 ranks 1,062nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, an educated workforce, and population health, 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 07974 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $762,503. The overall cost of living runs about 21% above the national average. Set against a $162,502 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 07974 safe?
Yes, 07974 is safer than 61% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $194 per resident a year.
Compare 07974 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 07974. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 07974 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.
07974 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 07974: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 07974: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 07974: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 07974: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
07974 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.