Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Elk Township's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades B+, ranked 194th of 466 in New Jersey. The median household earns $141K and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 78% of the country. 27% of the land in Elk Township is conserved, above both the New Jersey town median (11%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 16 of New Jersey’s 530 towns score higher on cost of living. The biggest park or preserve is Elk Township Recreational Park, at 42 acres.
Where Elk Township beats most towns.
Where Elk Township’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 Elk Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 997 in 1900, 4,424 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 5 maps from 1890 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Elk Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaLincoln Financial Field
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaXfinity Mobile Arena
Big draw23 mi Park & preservePine Barrens
Big draw20 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a year
Big draw21 mi MuseumEastern State PenitentiaryUSS New Jersey: Camera Operator: PH3 BRYANT, Public domain · Lincoln Financial Field: The original uploader was Betp at French Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Xfinity Mobile Arena: Jen Smith, CC BY 3.0 · Pine Barrens: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Independence Hall: Mys 721tx, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Eastern State Penitentiary: Davidt8, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elk 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 Elk Township.
Elk Township carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of New Jersey (mostly inland flooding), is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 99% of New Jersey towns, with expected losses of about $292 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
At 7 of 100, Elk Township’s FEMA risk score is against 52 of 100 in New Jersey’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. Since 1978, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Elk Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Elk Township School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 350 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 64% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Against the 3,450 U.S. towns with household incomes like Elk Township’s, it is less healthy than 70%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
19% of Elk Township adults have been diagnosed with depression. Elk Township beats the New Jersey average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 39% of Elk Township adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Elk Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 36% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 78% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 28% | 35% |
| What stands out | Elk Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.5% | 11.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12% | 14.3% |
| More adults with depression | 19% | 15.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.1 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Elk Township’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Elk Township Recreational Park | — | 42 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 9.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 64% of New Jersey’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Jobs based here grew from 605 in 2013 to 903.
Most working residents leave Elk Township for work: only 5% work in town. Jobs based in Elk Township grew to 903 in 2023, 298 more than in 2013. 3.9% of residents live below the poverty line in Elk Township.
| Elk Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $141,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.9% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.1% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Elk Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 25° and about 13 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 48% of residents (40% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (21% statewide). Elk Township has grown 2.4% since 2020, to 4,520 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. The median age in Elk Township is 44.1 years.
| Elk Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 18% | 18% |
| Median age | 44.1 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 45% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.8 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Elk Township | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.8% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 16.8% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.9% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 20% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.3% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.1% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.4% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.1% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.4% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.5% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.3% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.4% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,500, single groups can be off by several points
3 within 15 miles of the center of Elk Township
About 3 of every 100 Elk Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Township in Gloucester County, New Jersey, US
Elk Township is a township in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 4,424, an increase of 208 (+4.9%) from the 2010 census count of 4,216, which in turn reflected an increase of 702 (+20.0%) from the 3,514 counted in the 2000 census. Elk Township was formed as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 17, 1891, from portions of Clayton Township, Glassboro Township, and South Harrison Township.} The township was named for elk hunted in the area. Until 2016, Elk Township had been a dry township where alcohol could not be sold. That year, the township sold a package goods license for $300,000 whi…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Elk Township.
Upper Pittsgrove Township next door grades higher for schools (B+ to Elk Township’s C) and lower for cost of living (C− to B−).
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Township | #194 | B+ | B− | A− | C | A− |
| Clayton | #255 | B | C | B+ | C− | B |
| Harrison Township | #16 | A+ | B− | A | B+ | A |
| Richwood | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Upper Pittsgrove Township | #215 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Glassboro | #337 | C+ | D | B− | C− | A− |
| South Harrison Township | #134 | A− | D | A+ | B− | A |
| Franklin Township | #353 | C | C− | B | C− | B |
Upper Pittsgrove Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Richwood isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Elk Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Elk Township grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #194 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A− for health, A− for safety and C for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
.JPG){kind=link}
