Best PlacesNewark, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Newark, 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.
Newark ranks 482nd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 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.
Newark's strengths and weaknesses
Where Newark ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of cities
- Household income$169,361 median, better than 96% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 243 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of cities
- BikingBetter than 94% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of cities
Where Newark ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,082 a month, better than only 2% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 2% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Newark
A household needs to earn about $292,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Newark home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $169,361, 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 Newark's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 Newark
Newark's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Newark.
Who works in Newark, and how
Work in Newark centers on manufacturing and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Newark
Newark has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of cities and more parkland per resident than 79% of cities. The coast is about 32 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Newark and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Newark, month by month
Newark sees roughly 243 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 75 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs February through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 53° | 45° |
| April | 68° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 75° | 68° | 60° |
| October | 74° | 65° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Newark
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 13 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.3 million passengers in 2025, with 67 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Newark
Schools across Newark average a B, better than 62% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Ardenwood ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Steven Millard ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Joseph Azevada ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thornton Junior HighA · 60% proficient
- Centerville Junior HighB− · 41% proficient
- G. M. Walters MiddleC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- American HighA · 74% proficient
- Washington HighA− · 59% proficient
- John F. Kennedy HighB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Newark school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
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 Newark against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Newark suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of cities and 23% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Newark
Is Newark a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Newark ranks 482nd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on population health, high incomes, and the weather, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Newark expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,139,612. The overall cost of living runs about 42% above the national average. Set against a $169,361 median income, cost of living beats 77% of cities.
Is Newark safe?
Newark is safer than 33% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $380 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Newark?
July highs average about 75 degrees, and January highs near 59 with lows near 45. That works out to about 243 pleasant days a year, more than 95% of cities.
Is Newark good for families?
Schools beat 62% of cities, crime safety beats 33%, and childcare runs $2,082 a month.
Compare Newark with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Newark. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 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.
Newark detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Newark: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Newark: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Newark: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Newark: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
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.