Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,027, settled in 1808.
Yes, by almost any measure. Chatham earns an A+, 27th of 466 graded towns in New Jersey. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates, the median household earns $242K, and its schools rank ahead of 89% of New Jersey towns. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.4 million, 13.8 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 84% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Chatham, above both the New Jersey town median (45%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Chatham is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 98% of U.S. towns. On civic life, just 27 of New Jersey’s 527 towns do better.
Where Chatham beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Chatham | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.8% | 14.3% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Chatham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 4 old photos and papers and 8 maps from 1888 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chatham. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw22 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw21 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw22 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw20 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 Chatham, 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 Chatham.
Chatham is the healthiest town in New Jersey and reports less crime than Florham Park or any other graded neighbor, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
At 13.8 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $1.37M) costs more against local pay than in 97% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
Chatham’s median rent is $2,250 a month. Typical home values rose 11% in the year to September 2026. 83% of households own their home in Chatham.
| Chatham | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,250 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 83% | 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 $1.37M.
Its public schools are run by School District of the Chathams. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 833 | A |
| Milton Avenue SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 301 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
It is the healthiest of the 468 New Jersey towns we grade on the CDC estimates behind the Health Grade. Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 4.8% of its 6,513 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
21% of Chatham adults have obesity. Among 468 New Jersey towns, just 2 have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Chatham. 27% of Chatham adults have high blood pressure.
| Chatham | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.2% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 22% | 25% |
| What stands out | Chatham | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.8% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.5% | 11.3% |
| More binge drinkers | 19.5% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Florham Park (A) comes closest. Reported crimes fell from 67 to 45 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Chatham is 0 per 1,000 residents.
| Chatham | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1.7 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memorial Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1999, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Chatham.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Chatham 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
Chatham has about as many jobs (3,451) as working residents, but only 183 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 39.2 minutes, against 30.5 across New Jersey.
Only 9 of the 468 New Jersey towns we compare have a higher median household income than Chatham. Most working residents leave Chatham for work: only 5% work in town. Only 4 of the 468 New Jersey towns we compare have a higher share of workers working from home than Chatham.
| Chatham | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 37% | 16% | 11% |
| Median household income | $242,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 39 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.2% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
23 within 15 miles of the center of Chatham
About 4 of every 100 Chatham residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
8 notable people were born in Chatham.
Place in New Jersey, United States
"The Chathams" (, CHAT-əm) is a term used in reference to shared services for two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey, United States – Chatham and Chatham Township. The two are separate municipalities, although when sharing some services act much like one cohesive community (hence "The Chathams"). The first municipality, a town that was settled in 1710 as a colonial English village in the Province of New Jersey, that in 1773 adopted a name change to "Chatham". There are numerous references to this village as "Chatham, New Jersey" dating from that time. The second municipality, more southern, without a town center, and less densely populated until very recently, is the ve…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Chatham.
At #27 in NJ, it grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Florham Park (A) comes closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham · Chatham Township | #27 | A+ | D | A | A | A+ |
| Summit | #51 | A | D | A− | A | A+ |
| Millburn Township | #113 | A | D | B− | A | A+ |
| Florham Park | #43 | A | D− | A | A | A+ |
Chatham Township and Chatham are one community, graded once. Compare Chatham with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Chatham grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #27 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.
8 notable people were born here, including Patrick McHale and Alex Laferriere.
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