Fair Lawn, NJ vs Melrose, MA

Side-by-side comparison of housing, income, commute, safety, and quality of life.

Score Snapshot

No universal winner

Scores summarize the published model. Use the objective metric differences below and your own priorities to choose.

Fair Lawn

73.1

#784 nationally

Melrose

67.3

#1438 nationally

Fair Lawn leads in crime level (1.2 vs 2.8). Fair Lawn leads in cost of living index (144 vs 167). Fair Lawn leads in median household income ($141,540 vs $126,305).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Fair Lawn, NJ	Melrose, MA
WhereAtHome Score	73.1 (#784)	67.3 (#1438)
Population	35,564	29,357
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$739,017	$930,823
Median Household Income	$141,540	$126,305
Average Commute	33.5 min	37.1 min
Walk Score	60	62
Crime Level	1.2	2.8
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	144	167
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+3.4	D+39.5