ZIP 07029 vs ZIP 07102

This side-by-side compares ZIP 07029 (Harrison, NJ) and ZIP 07102 (Newark, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 07029 has a population of 16,026 at 4,727 people per square mile, while ZIP 07102 has 12,579 at 4,136 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 07029 reports a median household income of $88,333 against $38,864 in ZIP 07102, with per-capita income of $48,577 vs $33,907. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 48.2% in 07029 and 37.2% in 07102. Poverty rate reads 14.9% vs 31.3%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 9.4% — 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 $499,600 in 07029 versus $431,500 in 07102, with median rent of $2,195 and $1,265 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 21.8% vs 6.0%. 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.