Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Berkeley Heights Township earns an A+, ranked 38th of 466 in New Jersey. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally, the median household earns $205K, and it reports less crime per resident than 86% of U.S. towns. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $961K, 9.7 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 76% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Berkeley Heights Township, against 45% in New Jersey’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Berkeley Heights Township is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. Berkeley Heights Township has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Littel-Lord Farmstead and Feltville Historic District.
Where Berkeley Heights Township beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Berkeley Heights Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.8% | 9.6% |
14.5% of the town is conserved land, across 5 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Berkeley Heights Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 756 in 1810, a low of 469 in 1900, 13,285 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1991 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Berkeley Heights Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw25 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw24 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw25 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw22 mi MuseumNational September 11 Memorial & MuseumMadison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Central Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0 · National September 11 Memorial & Museum: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Berkeley Heights Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Berkeley Heights Township.
Berkeley Heights Township has less tooth loss than most of New Jersey and has seen reported crime fall by about half, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
At 9.7 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $961K) costs more against local pay than in 87% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The median rent in Berkeley Heights Township is $2,203 a month. Typical home values rose 7.8% in the year to September 2026. 93% of households own their home in Berkeley Heights Township.
| Berkeley Heights Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,203 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 93% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A− for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $961K.
Its public schools are run by the Berkeley Heights School District. Three of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 523 | A |
| Governor Livingston High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 849 | A |
| Mountain Park SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 224 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is tooth loss: 3.8% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.6% statewide.
Berkeley Heights Township beats the New Jersey average on 23 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 12% of Berkeley Heights Township adults report frequent mental distress.
| Berkeley Heights Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 28% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Berkeley Heights Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.8% | 9.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.8% | 14.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.1% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
9.3 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Berkeley Heights Township’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile. Watchung Reservation, at 271 acres with 6.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Watchung Reservation | 6.9 mi | 271 |
| 2. Seeley's Pond Picnic Grounds | 0.3 mi | 8 |
| 3. Snyder Avenue Park | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Reported crimes fell from 88 to 46 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 5 reported in 2025, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Berkeley Heights Township has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
26.9% of workers work from home, against 16.8% across New Jersey.
Most working residents leave Berkeley Heights Township for work: only 6% work in town. Since 2013, Berkeley Heights Township has added 1,189 jobs, to 8,734 in 2023. The top destinations are New York (16%), Summit (4%) and Newark (3%).
| Berkeley Heights Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $205,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 27% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 1.9% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 67 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Berkeley Heights Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
23 within 15 miles of the center of Berkeley Heights Township
About 5 of every 100 Berkeley Heights Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
3 places in Berkeley Heights Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Berkeley Heights Township.
Township in Union County, New Jersey, US
Berkeley Heights is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States, on a ridge in north central New Jersey, Berkeley Heights is a commuter town of New York City, in the Raritan Valley region and also bordering both Morris and Somerset counties in the Passaic Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census the township's population was 13,285, an increase of 102 (+0.8%) from the 2010 census count of 13,183, which in turn reflected a decline of 224 (−1.7%) from the 13,407 counted in the 2000 census. The township was originally incorporated as New Providence Township by the New Jersey Legislature on November 8, 1809, from portions of Springfield Township, while the area was still par…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Berkeley Heights Township.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley Heights Township | #38 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
| Watchung | #272 | B− | D− | C− | A− | A+ |
| Scotch Plains Township | #72 | A | D | A− | A− | A+ |
| Mountainside | #5 | A+ | D− | A | A+ | A+ |
| Gillette | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Long Hill Township | #187 | B+ | D | — | A− | A+ |
| New Providence | #50 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Chatham Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Long Hill Township and New Providence report no FBI crime data of their own. Gillette and Chatham Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Berkeley Heights Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Berkeley Heights Township grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #38 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health, A for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
Berkeley Heights Township was incorporated in 1809 and has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 5 notable people were born here, including Scott M. Gimple and Bertha Runkle.
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