Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Holmdel Township earns an A, 66th of 466 graded towns in New Jersey. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 97% of the country, its public schools beat 90% of New Jersey towns on state tests and graduation, and the median household earns $165K. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $1.1 million for a typical one and 11.3 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Holmdel Township’s median household income is $165,000, above both the New Jersey town median ($113,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). Holmdel Township is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. Holmdel Township has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Horn Antenna and Bell Laboratories-Holmdel.
Where Holmdel Township beats most towns.
Horn Antenna is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,334 in 1860, a low of 1,058 in 1910, 17,400 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1754 and 3 maps from 1888 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Holmdel Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for health (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 2%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Holmdel Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw30 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw17 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw29 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw30 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 · 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Holmdel 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 Holmdel Township.
Holmdel Township draws workers from Middletown Township and beyond and is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
At 11.3 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $1.12M) costs more against local pay than in 92% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. 71.9% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 51.6% across New Jersey.
92% of households own their home in Holmdel Township. Typical home values rose 8.1% in the year to September 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A is the best School Grade on its borders; Marlboro Township (A−) is next. Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.12M.
Its public schools are run by the Holmdel Township School District. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Holmdel High School, with 934 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 822 | A+ |
| Holmdel High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 934 | A |
| Indian Hill SchoolTop results in townGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 610 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
34 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. Holmdel Township’s trail density is 1.9 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Thompson Park, 357 acres with 5.9 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Thompson Park | 5.9 mi | 357 |
| 2. Cross Farm Park | 1.6 mi | 53 |
| 3. Neil Waackaack Preserve | 0.7 mi | 71 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with New Jersey is no health insurance: 5% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 11.3% statewide.
13% of Holmdel Township adults have been diagnosed with depression. Holmdel Township beats the New Jersey average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 26% of Holmdel Township adults have obesity.
| Holmdel Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Holmdel Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5% | 11.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.5% | 14.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
13,318 jobs are based in Holmdel Township, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 37.7 minutes, against 30.5 across New Jersey.
Most working residents leave Holmdel Township for work: only 8% work in town. The average trip to work in Holmdel Township is 38 minutes. Jobs based in Holmdel Township grew to 13,318 in 2023, 5,938 more than in 2013.
| Holmdel Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 30% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 38 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.8% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 7.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 69% of New Jersey’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Holmdel Township has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 24° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Holmdel Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
8 within 15 miles of the center of Holmdel Township
About 6 of every 100 Holmdel Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
Where Holmdel Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 places in Holmdel Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Holmdel Township.
Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, US
Holmdel is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located near Raritan Bay in the Raritan Valley Region, the township is a regional commercial hub of Central Jersey, home to Bell Labs and PNC Bank Arts Center, and a bedroom community of New York City in the New York area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 17,400, an increase of 627 (+3.7%) from the 2010 census count of 16,773, which in turn reflected an increase of 992 (+6.3%) from the 15,781 counted in the 2000 census. Holmdel Township was formed by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 23, 1857, from portions of Raritan Township (now Hazlet). The origin of the township's name is …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Holmdel Township.
It grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Marlboro Township (A) comes closest. Hazlet Township next door grades lower for schools (B to Holmdel Township’s A) and higher for cost of living (C− to D−).
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holmdel Township | #66 | A | D− | A− | A | A+ |
| Marlboro Township | #90 | A | D | B+ | A− | A+ |
| Colts Neck Township | #120 | A | D− | A | B+ | A+ |
| Hazlet Township | #171 | A− | C− | B | B | A− |
| Middletown Township | #93 | A | C− | A− | B+ | A |
| Lincroft | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aberdeen Township | #218 | B+ | D | B | B− | A |
| Strathmore | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lincroft and Strathmore aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Holmdel Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Holmdel Township grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #66 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−.
6 notable people were born here, including Lorene Scafaria and Quenton Nelson.
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