ZIP 07043 vs ZIP 07009

This side-by-side compares ZIP 07043 (Montclair, NJ) and ZIP 07009 (Cedar Grove, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 07043 has a population of 12,138 at 1,809 people per square mile, while ZIP 07009 has 12,411 at 1,131 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 07043 reports a median household income of $250,001 against $151,625 in ZIP 07009, with per-capita income of $108,861 vs $68,009. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 83.8% in 07043 and 60.7% in 07009. Poverty rate reads 1.8% vs 4.1%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 8.2% — 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 $975,200 in 07043 versus $633,900 in 07009, with median rent of $2,220 and $1,896 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.3% vs 84.3%. 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.