Best PlacesMcGinley Square, Jersey City, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around McGinley 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.
McGinley Square, Jersey City ranks 2,140th 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 McGinley 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.
McGinley Square, Jersey City's strengths and weaknesses
Where McGinley Square, Jersey City ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
Where McGinley Square, Jersey City ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Short commute39.6 minutes each way, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,520 a month, better than only 19% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in McGinley Square, Jersey City
A household needs to earn about $183,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McGinley Square, Jersey City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $78,563, 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 McGinley 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 McGinley Square, Jersey City
McGinley 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 McGinley Square, Jersey City.
Who works in McGinley Square, Jersey City, and how
Work in McGinley Square, Jersey City centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 26%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 56%
Life in McGinley Square, Jersey City
The coast is about 16 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across McGinley Square, Jersey City, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in McGinley Square, Jersey City, month by month
McGinley Square, Jersey City 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 McGinley 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 McGinley Square, Jersey City
Schools across McGinley Square, Jersey City average a B−, better than 75% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Julia A. Barnes SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Martin Luther King Jr. SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Mahatma K. Gandhi SchoolD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Academy IA− · 55% proficient
- Middle School # 4C · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Dr Ronald Mcnair High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- William L Dickinson High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
- Lincoln High SchoolF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McGinley Square, Jersey City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McGinley 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 McGinley Square, Jersey City against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who McGinley Square, Jersey City suits
Common questions about living in McGinley Square, Jersey City
Is McGinley Square, Jersey City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McGinley Square, Jersey City ranks 2,140th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and quiet, 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 McGinley Square, Jersey City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $650,196. The overall cost of living runs about 25% above the national average. Set against a $78,563 median income, cost of living beats 28% of neighborhoods.
Is McGinley Square, Jersey City safe?
McGinley Square, Jersey City is safer than 54% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $292 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in McGinley Square, Jersey City?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 26. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of neighborhoods.
Is McGinley Square, Jersey City good for families?
Schools beat 75% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 54%, and childcare runs $1,520 a month.
Compare McGinley Square, Jersey City with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McGinley Square, Jersey City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McGinley 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.
McGinley Square, Jersey City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McGinley Square, Jersey City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McGinley Square, Jersey City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McGinley Square, Jersey City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McGinley Square, Jersey City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McGinley 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.