Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,390, settled in 1894.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Garwood grades A− overall, 135th among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. It is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. It is healthier than 88% of U.S. towns and it reports less crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $679K, 6.9 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Only 49 of New Jersey’s 530 towns score higher on hazard risk. The biggest park or preserve is Unami Park, at 21 acres. No town among the 394 in New Jersey we compare has a lower property crime rate than Garwood.
Where Garwood beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Garwood is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 8%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,118 in 1910, 4,454 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Garwood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw21 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw19 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw21 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw17 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 Garwood, 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 Garwood.
Garwood carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of New Jersey (mostly inland flooding), has seen reported crime fall by about half and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey.
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 52% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Its widest gap with New Jersey is tooth loss: 5.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.6% statewide.
17% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Garwood, where New Jersey’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 23%. 27% of Garwood adults have obesity. Garwood beats the New Jersey average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Garwood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 28% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 9.7% | 12% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 78% | 79% |
| What stands out | Garwood | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.3% | 9.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.7% | 14.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.5% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Garwood Boro school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| LincolnLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 372 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests
Reported crimes fell from 35 to 0 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
At 0 per 1,000 residents, Garwood’s violent crime rate is below both the New Jersey town median (0.7) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6).
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 92% of New Jersey towns, with expected losses of about $206 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Garwood’s FEMA risk score is 17 of 100. Since 1978, 45 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Garwood.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Garwood has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 23° and about 26 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
54% of households own their home in Garwood. The typical Garwood home is worth about $679,000, up 2.8% in a year, 18% above the New Jersey typical home. The median rent in Garwood is $1,753 a month.
| Garwood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,753 a month | $1,780 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Garwood for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Garwood has lost 198 jobs, to 1,896 in 2023. The top destinations are New York (12%), Elizabeth (4%) and Newark (4%).
| Garwood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $111,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 9.9% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.5% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New Jersey average. Garwood has grown 21% since 2020, to 5,390 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 45% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across New Jersey.
| Garwood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 45% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Median age | 42.3 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.4 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Garwood | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.1% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.5% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.7% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.1% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.3% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.1% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.2% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.7% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.8% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 30.1% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.1% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
| Garwood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.5% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Garwood Park | 0.5 mi | 6 |
| 2. Unami Park | — | 21 |
| 3. YMCA Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
29 within 15 miles of the center of Garwood
About 4 of every 100 Garwood residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Borough in Union County, New Jersey, US
Garwood is a borough in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,454, an increase of 228 (+5.4%) from the 2010 census count of 4,226, which in turn reflected an increase of 73 (+1.8%) from the 4,153 counted in the 2000 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Garwood.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garwood | #135 | A− | D | A | B | A |
| Cranford Township | #55 | A | D | A− | A− | A+ |
| Westfield | #14 | A+ | D | A | A | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Garwood grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #135 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health, A for safety and B 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.
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