Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
East Orange earns a D−, 437th of 466 graded towns in New Jersey, mostly because of schools and safety. Its schools rank behind 84% of the state's. It reports more crime per resident than 82% of U.S. towns, including 308 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. On health, just 32 of New Jersey’s 530 towns do worse. East Orange's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 95% of U.S. towns. On incomes, just 34 of New Jersey’s 530 towns do worse.
Where East Orange beats most towns.
Ambrose-Ward MansionWhere East Orange’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far East Orange is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 12%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,315 in 1870, 69,612 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1889 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around East Orange. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw13 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw12 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw13 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw11 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 East Orange, 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 East Orange.
East Orange reports violent crime at about twice the New Jersey rate, but it has household incomes well below the New Jersey norm.
Its public schools are run by the East Orange School District. Two of its 25 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward T. Bowser Sr. School of ExcellenceLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 612 | D |
| East Orange Campus High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,798 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 4.3 per 1,000 residents, about twice the New Jersey rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its C−.
East Orange’s violent crime rate is 4.3 per 1,000 residents, above both the New Jersey town median (0.7) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). The property crime rate in East Orange is 19.3 per 1,000 residents. East Orange reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 82% report less.
| East Orange | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave East Orange for work: only 8% work in town. East Orange’s average trip to work is 35 minutes, against 30 minutes in New Jersey’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. 16% of East Orange residents live below the poverty line.
| East Orange | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.7% | 17% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
47% of adults sleep under 7 hours in East Orange. East Orange beats the New Jersey average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 22. 33% of adults get no exercise outside work in East Orange.
| East Orange | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 36% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 32% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 11% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 22% | 25% |
| What stands out | East Orange | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.5% | 7.5% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.8% | 15.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 17.1% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 58 flood insurance claims have been paid out in East Orange.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
East Orange has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 23° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical East Orange home is worth about $477,000, about the same as a year ago, 17% below the New Jersey typical home. East Orange’s median rent is $1,441 a month.
| East Orange | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 31% | 77% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 58% | 52% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,441 a month | $1,780 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.8 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves.
| East Orange | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Watsessing Park | 0.3 mi | 5 |
| 2. Soverel Park | — | 12 |
| 3. Elmwood Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
103 within 15 miles of the center of East Orange
About 6 of every 100 East Orange residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
6 places in East Orange on the National Register of Historic Places.
45 notable people were born in East Orange.
City in Essex County, New Jersey, US
East Orange is a city in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 census count of 64,270, which in turn reflected a decline of 5,554 (−8.0%) from the 69,824 counted in the 2000 census. The city was the state's 17th most populous municipality in 2020, after having been ranked 20th in 2010 and 14th statewide in 2000. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 69,556 for 2023, making it the 544th-most populous municipality in the nation.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with East Orange.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Orange | #437 | D− | D | C− | C− | C |
| Newark | #453 | D− | D | C− | D | D |
| City of Orange Township | #442 | D− | C− | C− | C− | C− |
| South Orange Village Township | #186 | B+ | D− | B | B+ | A+ |
| Bloomfield Township | #259 | B | D | B− | B− | A |
| Ampere North | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ampere North isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare East Orange with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
East Orange grades D− overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #437 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades C for health, C− for safety and C− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 4.8 years of the area's median household income ($99,155 across the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
45 notable people were born here, including Richard Thaler and Lauryn Hill.
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