ZIP 07052 vs ZIP 07079

This side-by-side compares ZIP 07052 (West Orange, NJ) and ZIP 07079 (South Orange, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 07052 has a population of 46,182 at 1,483 people per square mile, while ZIP 07079 has 16,316 at 2,211 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 07052 reports a median household income of $129,475 against $195,417 in ZIP 07079, with per-capita income of $63,220 vs $84,795. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 52.6% in 07052 and 77.1% in 07079. Poverty rate reads 7.4% vs 6.0%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 5.3% — 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 $556,800 in 07052 versus $866,600 in 07079, with median rent of $1,897 and $2,294 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.2% vs 65.2%. 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.