Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,096, settled in 1874.
Fair Haven is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, ranked 2nd of 466 in New Jersey. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally, it reports less crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, and its public schools beat 96% of New Jersey towns on state tests and graduation. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $1.6 million for a typical one and 16.6 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 87% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Fair Haven, above both the New Jersey town median (45%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Fair Haven is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Among 347 New Jersey towns, just 4 have a higher typical home value than Fair Haven.
Where Fair Haven beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Fair Haven | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.8% | 14.3% |
Where Fair Haven’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 Fair Haven is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,295 in 1920, 6,269 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 6 maps from 1888 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fair Haven. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw29 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw15 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw28 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw29 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a yearMadison 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 · Coney Island: OptimumPx, Public domain · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fair Haven, 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 Fair Haven.
Fair Haven has schools in the top 5% of New Jersey, sends many workers across the state line and has less food insecurity than most of New Jersey.
At 16.6 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $1.64M) costs more against local pay than in 99% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Home values rose 55% in five years, to about $1.64M, against 35% across New Jersey.
Fair Haven’s median rent is $3,492 a month. Typical home values rose 13% in the year to September 2026. 90% of households own their home in Fair Haven.
| Fair Haven | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,492 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 90% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ ranks #7 of the 465 New Jersey towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.64M.
Its public schools are run by the Fair Haven School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knollwood SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–8 | Grades 4–8 | 502 | A+ |
| Viola L Sickles SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 464 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 4.8% of its 4,303 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide. Against the 436 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fair Haven’s, it is healthier than 78%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
25% of Fair Haven adults feel lonely. Only 5 of the 468 New Jersey towns we compare have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Fair Haven. 8.5% of Fair Haven adults report frequent physical distress.
| Fair Haven | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 12% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 22% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 36% |
| What stands out | Fair Haven | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.8% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.2% | 11.3% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.6% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Fair Haven is 1.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Fair Haven | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2.6 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Fair Haven | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. McCarter Park | — | 8 |
| 2. Community Center Fields | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
21% of working residents cross a state line to work. The average commute for its 2,535 working residents takes 44.1 minutes, against 30.5 across New Jersey.
Among 468 New Jersey towns, just 7 have a higher median household income than Fair Haven. Jobs based in Fair Haven grew to 891 in 2023, 150 more than in 2013. Among 468 New Jersey towns, just 2 have a higher average trip to work than Fair Haven.
| Fair Haven | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 44 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $250,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 25% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 1.1% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fair Haven has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 26° and about 25 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fair Haven.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Fair Haven
About 3 of every 100 Fair Haven residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, US
Fair Haven is a borough situated in the Jersey Shore region within Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. Fair Haven is located on the Rumson peninsula along the Navesink River and is bordered by Red Bank and Little Silver to the west. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,269, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 148 (+2.4%) from the 2010 census count of 6,121, which in turn reflected an increase of 184 (+3.1%) from the 5,937 counted in the 2000 census. Fair Haven was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 28, 1912, from portions of Shrewsbury Township, subject to …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Fair Haven.
At #2 in NJ, it grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Rumson (A) comes closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair Haven | #2 | A+ | D | A+ | A+ | A+ |
| Red Bank | #323 | C+ | D− | B− | C | A− |
| Middletown Township | #93 | A | C− | A− | B+ | A |
| Rumson | #44 | A | D | — | A+ | A+ |
Rumson reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Fair Haven with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Fair Haven grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #2 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.
2 notable people were born here, including Jacquelyn Jablonski and Larry Tukis.
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