Best PlacesNewark, MD 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. 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.
Newark ranks 33,077th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and taxes 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
- TransitBetter than 91% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 85% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 82% of towns
- Household income$88,744 median, better than 75% of towns
Where Newark ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 8% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of towns
- Short commute36.7 minutes each way, better than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Newark
A household needs to earn about $86,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Newark home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,744, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 0.60%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Newark
Newark runs older 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 Newark.
Who works in Newark, and how
Work in Newark centers on hospitality & food and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Newark
The coast is about 25 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Newark, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Newark, month by month
Newark sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 28° |
| April | 66° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 87° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 62° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Newark
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 98 miles away.
The best schools in and around Newark
Schools across Newark average a C, better than 45% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Buckingham ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Snow Hill ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Berlin IntermediateB+ · 48% proficient
- Snow Hill MiddleD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Stephen Decatur HighA · 67% proficient
- Snow Hill HighA− · 60% 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 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Newark
Is Newark a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Newark ranks 33,077th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on transit, fast internet, and health care access, and lowest on taxes and an overheated housing market. 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 $337,140. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $88,744 median income, cost of living beats 57% of towns.
Is Newark safe?
Newark is safer than 30% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $373 per resident a year.
Compare Newark with other towns
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.