Best PlacesLower Vailsburg, Newark, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lower Vailsburg, 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.
Lower Vailsburg, Newark ranks 4,386th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lower Vailsburg, 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.
Lower Vailsburg, Newark's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lower Vailsburg, Newark ranks high
- QuietBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
Where Lower Vailsburg, Newark ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Short commute36.4 minutes each way, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Lower Vailsburg, Newark
A household needs to earn about $119,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lower Vailsburg, Newark home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $60,675, 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 Lower Vailsburg, Newark's effective rate of 2.00%, 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 Lower Vailsburg, Newark
Lower Vailsburg, Newark'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 Lower Vailsburg, Newark.
Who works in Lower Vailsburg, Newark, and how
Work in Lower Vailsburg, Newark centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 25%
Life in Lower Vailsburg, Newark
Lower Vailsburg, Newark has more parkland per resident than 71% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 22 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Lower Vailsburg, Newark and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lower Vailsburg, Newark, month by month
Lower Vailsburg, Newark sees roughly 58 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 Lower Vailsburg, Newark
Newark Liberty International sits about 5 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 Lower Vailsburg, Newark
Schools across Lower Vailsburg, Newark average a D, better than 10% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Benjamin Banneker AcademyD− · 12% proficient
- Ivy Hill Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sojourner Truth Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Bard Early College High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- East Orange Campus High SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lower Vailsburg, Newark school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lower Vailsburg, 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 Lower Vailsburg, Newark against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Lower Vailsburg, Newark
Is Lower Vailsburg, Newark a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lower Vailsburg, Newark ranks 4,386th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on quiet, big-city access, and cell coverage, 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 Lower Vailsburg, Newark expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $392,043. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $60,675 median income, cost of living beats 19% of neighborhoods.
Is Lower Vailsburg, Newark safe?
Lower Vailsburg, Newark is safer than 50% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $308 per resident a year.
Compare Lower Vailsburg, Newark with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lower Vailsburg, Newark. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lower Vailsburg, 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.
Lower Vailsburg, Newark detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lower Vailsburg, Newark: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lower Vailsburg, Newark: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lower Vailsburg, Newark: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lower Vailsburg, Newark: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lower Vailsburg, 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.