Best PlacesCentral Business District, Newark, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central Business District, Newark, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Central Business District, Newark ranks 4,686th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Central Business District, Newark
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.
Central Business District, Newark's strengths and weaknesses
Where Central Business District, Newark ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
Where Central Business District, Newark ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Short commute37.5 minutes each way, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central Business District, Newark
A household needs to earn about $148,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central Business District, Newark home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $56,764, 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 Central Business District, Newark's effective rate of 1.70%, 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 Central Business District, Newark
Central Business District, Newark runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Central Business District, Newark.
Who works in Central Business District, Newark, and how
Work in Central Business District, Newark centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 34%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 53%
Life in Central Business District, Newark
Central Business District, Newark has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 18 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Central Business District, Newark and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Central Business District, Newark, month by month
Central Business District, Newark sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 71° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Central Business District, Newark
Newark Liberty International sits about 3 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 Central Business District, Newark
Schools across Central Business District, Newark average a D, better than 10% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- The Gray Charter SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Dr. E. Alma Flagg SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Discovery Charter SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Bard Early College High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Central Business District, Newark school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central Business District, Newark 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 Central Business District, Newark against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Central Business District, Newark
Is Central Business District, Newark a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central Business District, Newark ranks 4,686th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and big-city access, and lowest on state finances and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Central Business District, Newark expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $503,054. The overall cost of living runs about 9% above the national average. Set against a $56,764 median income, cost of living beats 18% of neighborhoods.
Is Central Business District, Newark safe?
Central Business District, Newark is safer than 5% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $767 per resident a year.
Compare Central Business District, Newark with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central Business District, Newark. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central Business District, Newark 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.
Central Business District, Newark detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central Business District, Newark: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central Business District, Newark: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central Business District, Newark: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central Business District, Newark: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central Business District, Newark 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.