Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Jefferson Township grades A overall, ranked 121st of 466 in New Jersey. It has 83 miles of trail and 47% conserved land. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 96% of U.S. towns and it is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $428K, 4.3 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 47% of the land in Jefferson Township is conserved, above both New Jersey’s towns (11%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest place to walk is Rockaway River Wildlife Management Area, 3,633 acres with 18.5 miles of trail. Only 10 of the 468 New Jersey towns we compare have a lower July high than Jefferson Township.
Where Jefferson Township beats most towns.
47.3% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Jefferson Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for safety (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 14%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,281 in 1810, a low of 1,226 in 1920, 20,538 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1917 and 5 maps from 1888 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jefferson Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw34 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw33 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw34 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw34 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township.
Jefferson Township reports less crime than Hopatcong or any other graded neighbor, keeps more of its land conserved than most of New Jersey and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey.
Its 12,876 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 97% of New Jersey towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #14 of 468 in New Jersey.
83 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. Jefferson Township’s trail density is 2.0 miles per square mile, above both the New Jersey town median (0.7) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mahlon Dickerson Reservation | 23.4 mi | 3,127 |
| 2. Rockaway River Wildlife Management Area | 18.5 mi | 3,633 |
| 3. Minnisink Reservation | 2.1 mi | 315 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Jefferson Township Public School District. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Jefferson Township High School, with 761 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Township Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 550 | B− |
| Jefferson Township High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 761 | C+ |
| Academy for Environmental ScienceTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 36 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its A+ tops all 4 graded towns on its borders; Hopatcong (A) comes closest. Reported crimes fell from 54 to 34 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Jefferson Township is 1.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Jefferson Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 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
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 63% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar.
25% of adults have obesity in Jefferson Township. Jefferson Township beats the New Jersey average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 19% of adults binge drink in Jefferson Township.
| Jefferson Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 23% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 9.7% | 12% |
| What stands out | Jefferson Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.5% | 14.3% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.7% | 12.3% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.8% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Jefferson Township for work: only 9% work in town. Jefferson Township’s average trip to work is 37 minutes. Since 2013, Jefferson Township has added 923 jobs, to 4,726 in 2023.
| Jefferson Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $120,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.5% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 15% | 17% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
77 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 10 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 77 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Jefferson Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jefferson Township has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 19° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 44% of residents (40% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (21% statewide). 19% of Jefferson Township residents are under 18. 45% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across New Jersey.
| Jefferson Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46.4 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 45% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 18% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.3 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Jefferson Township | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.2% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.8% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.2% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.7% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.1% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.1% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.9% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.1% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.2% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.6% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.6% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.2% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.3% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
4 within 15 miles of the center of Jefferson Township
About 5 of every 100 Jefferson Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
Where Jefferson Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Township in Morris County, New Jersey, US
Jefferson Township is the northernmost township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 20,538, a decrease of 776 (−3.6%) from the 2010 census count of 21,314, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,597 (+8.1%) from the 19,717 counted in the 2000 census. Jefferson Township was formed as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 11, 1804, from portions of Pequannock Township and Roxbury. The township was named after Thomas Jefferson, the President of the United States at the time the Township was created. The township is situated in the northernmost part of Morris County bordering both Passai…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Jefferson Township.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Roxbury Township (A−) comes closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Township | #121 | A | D | A+ | B− | A |
| West Milford Township | #164 | A− | C− | A | B− | A |
| Oak Ridge | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lake Hopatcong | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Newfoundland | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hopatcong | #222 | B+ | C− | A | D | A |
| Roxbury Township | #157 | A− | D | A− | B− | A |
| Rockaway Township | #162 | A− | D | B+ | B+ | A |
Oak Ridge, Lake Hopatcong and Newfoundland aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Jefferson Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Jefferson Township grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #121 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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