ZIP 07016 vs ZIP 07027

This side-by-side compares ZIP 07016 (Cranford, NJ) and ZIP 07027 (Garwood, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 07016 has a population of 22,625 at 1,811 people per square mile, while ZIP 07027 has 4,226 at 2,506 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 07016 reports a median household income of $155,972 against $110,670 in ZIP 07027, with per-capita income of $80,695 vs $63,436. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 66.2% in 07016 and 45.2% in 07027. Poverty rate reads 2.5% vs 9.9%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 7.1% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $660,100 in 07016 versus $533,300 in 07027, with median rent of $2,199 and $1,753 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.5% vs 54.4%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.