Best PlacesUpper Vailsburg, Newark, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Upper 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.
Upper Vailsburg, Newark ranks 4,680th 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 Upper 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.
Upper Vailsburg, Newark's strengths and weaknesses
Where Upper Vailsburg, Newark ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
Where Upper Vailsburg, Newark ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Short commute35.4 minutes each way, better than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Upper Vailsburg, Newark
A household needs to earn about $105,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Upper Vailsburg, Newark home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $66,299, 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 Upper Vailsburg, Newark's effective rate of 1.80%, 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 Upper Vailsburg, Newark
Upper Vailsburg, Newark runs younger than the country, 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 Upper Vailsburg, Newark.
Who works in Upper Vailsburg, Newark, and how
Work in Upper 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 65%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 25%
Life in Upper Vailsburg, Newark
The coast is about 21 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Upper Vailsburg, Newark, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Upper Vailsburg, Newark, month by month
Upper 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 Upper 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 Upper Vailsburg, Newark
Schools across Upper Vailsburg, Newark average a D, better than 10% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Mt Vernon Place SchoolD · 17% proficient
- Dionne Warwick InstituteD− · 11% proficient
- Dr. E. Alma Flagg SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Union Avenue Middle SchoolF · 11% proficient
- Sojourner Truth Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Bard Early College High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- East Orange Campus High SchoolD− · 14% proficient
- Irvington High SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Upper Vailsburg, Newark school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Upper 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 Upper Vailsburg, Newark against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Upper Vailsburg, Newark suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Upper Vailsburg, Newark
Is Upper Vailsburg, Newark a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Upper Vailsburg, Newark ranks 4,680th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on big-city access, fast internet, and quiet, and lowest on state finances 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 Upper Vailsburg, Newark expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $354,850. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $66,299 median income, cost of living beats 28% of neighborhoods.
Is Upper Vailsburg, Newark safe?
Upper Vailsburg, Newark is safer than 44% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $340 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Upper Vailsburg, Newark?
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 5% of neighborhoods.
Is Upper Vailsburg, Newark good for families?
Schools beat 10% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 44%, and childcare runs $1,400 a month.
Compare Upper Vailsburg, Newark with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Upper Vailsburg, Newark. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Upper 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.
Upper Vailsburg, Newark detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Upper Vailsburg, Newark: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Upper Vailsburg, Newark: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Upper Vailsburg, Newark: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Upper Vailsburg, Newark: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Upper 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.