Best PlacesJournal Square, Jersey City, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Journal Square, Jersey City, 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.
Journal Square, Jersey City ranks 2,933rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Journal Square, Jersey City
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.
Journal Square, Jersey City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Journal Square, Jersey City ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Journal Square, Jersey City ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Short commute36.9 minutes each way, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,520 a month, better than only 19% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Journal Square, Jersey City
A household needs to earn about $170,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Journal Square, Jersey City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $80,770, 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 Journal Square, Jersey City's effective rate of 1.36%, 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 Journal Square, Jersey City
Journal Square, Jersey City 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 Journal Square, Jersey City.
Who works in Journal Square, Jersey City, and how
Work in Journal Square, Jersey City centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 24%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 52%
Life in Journal Square, Jersey City
Journal Square, Jersey City has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 15 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Journal Square, Jersey City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Journal Square, Jersey City, month by month
Journal Square, Jersey City sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 44° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 69° | 60° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Journal Square, Jersey City
Newark Liberty International sits about 6 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 Journal Square, Jersey City
Schools across Journal Square, Jersey City average a C−, better than 34% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Jotham W. Wakeman SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Jersey City Golden Door Charter SchoolC · 34% proficient
- The Ethical Community Charter SchoolC · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Academy IA− · 55% proficient
- Franklin L. Williams SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Dr Ronald Mcnair High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- William L Dickinson High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Journal Square, Jersey City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Journal Square, Jersey City 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 Journal Square, Jersey City against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Journal Square, Jersey City suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Journal Square, Jersey City
Is Journal Square, Jersey City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Journal Square, Jersey City ranks 2,933rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and transit, 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 Journal Square, Jersey City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $603,975. The overall cost of living runs about 29% above the national average. Set against a $80,770 median income, cost of living beats 29% of neighborhoods.
Is Journal Square, Jersey City safe?
Journal Square, Jersey City is safer than 51% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $311 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Journal Square, Jersey City?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 28. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of neighborhoods.
Is Journal Square, Jersey City good for families?
Schools beat 34% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 51%, and childcare runs $1,520 a month.
Compare Journal Square, Jersey City with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Journal Square, Jersey City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Journal Square, Jersey City 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.
Journal Square, Jersey City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Journal Square, Jersey City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Journal Square, Jersey City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Journal Square, Jersey City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Journal Square, Jersey City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Journal Square, Jersey City 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.