ZIP 07042 vs ZIP 07028

This side-by-side compares ZIP 07042 (Montclair, NJ) and ZIP 07028 (Glen Ridge, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 07042 has a population of 25,599 at 2,644 people per square mile, while ZIP 07028 has 7,618 at 2,289 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 07042 reports a median household income of $122,847 against $247,361 in ZIP 07028, with per-capita income of $82,808 vs $94,921. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 68.8% in 07042 and 81.3% in 07028. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 1.1%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 7.6% — 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 $821,700 in 07042 versus $833,600 in 07028, with median rent of $2,052 and $2,755 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 46.7% vs 91.0%. 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.