ZIP 07068 vs ZIP 07021

This side-by-side compares ZIP 07068 (Roseland, NJ) and ZIP 07021 (Essex Fells, NJ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 07068 has a population of 5,819 at 626 people per square mile, while ZIP 07021 has 2,091 at 578 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 07068 reports a median household income of $164,458 against $250,001 in ZIP 07021, with per-capita income of $80,904 vs $114,165. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 71.8% in 07068 and 81.3% in 07021. Poverty rate reads 2.5% vs 0.9%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 5.5% — 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 $665,700 in 07068 versus $1,083,000 in 07021, with median rent of $3,297 and $3,501 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.3% vs 96.4%. 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.