Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The everyday basics are strong; the price of a home is the catch. Its strongest subject is health (A+). At A overall, Kinnelon ranks 48th of 466 in New Jersey. That leaves it better than 94% of U.S. towns. What counts against it is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $854K, 8.6 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. On the outdoors, just 8 of New Jersey’s 530 towns do better. The biggest place to walk is Buck Mountain, 1,720 acres with 21 miles of trail. The town’s typical household income is $187,000, above both the New Jersey town median ($113,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000).
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · USGS PAD-US · OpenStreetMap.
Where Kinnelon beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Kinnelon | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6% | 14.3% |
31.4% 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 Kinnelon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 428 in 1930, 9,966 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1967 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Kinnelon. Close and well known come first.
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw26 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw26 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw26 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw36 mi MuseumUnited States Military AcademyMadison 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 · United States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kinnelon, 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 Kinnelon.
Kinnelon reports less crime than West Milford Township or any other graded neighbor and keeps more of its land conserved than most of New Jersey, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
Its 3,850 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 85% of New Jersey towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #6 of 468 in New Jersey.
For Kinnelon, the trail network density is 2.2 miles per square mile. Across 8 parks and preserves: 42 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Buck Mountain | 21 mi | 1,720 |
| 2. Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area | 4.1 mi | 378 |
| 3. Lake Rickabear Day Camp | 1 mi | 325 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $855K.
The public schools here belong to the Kinnelon School District. The largest public high school is Kinnelon High School, with 507 students. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pearl R. Miller Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 378 | A |
| Kinnelon High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 507 | A |
| Stonybrook Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 358 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 6% of its 7,722 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
13% of Kinnelon adults report frequent mental distress. CDC measures, 32 in all: Kinnelon beats New Jersey on 21 and trails on 2.
| Kinnelon | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 28% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Kinnelon | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6% | 14.3% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.7% | 12.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A+ tops all 4 graded towns on its borders; West Milford Township (A) comes closest. Reported crimes fell from 39 to 18 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent offense rate for Kinnelon comes to 0.1 per 1,000 residents. The property offense rate for Kinnelon comes to 1.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Kinnelon | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 8.6 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $855K) costs more against local pay than in 83% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Butler is next at $558K.
Typical home values rose 6.4% in the year to September 2026. For Kinnelon, the median rent is $2,282 a month. The share of households in Kinnelon who are owner-occupiers: 93%.
| Kinnelon | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,282 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 93% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
21% of workers work from home in Kinnelon. Only 4% of working residents stay in Kinnelon for work; the rest commute out. The town’s mean commuting time is 34 minutes. It had 1,611 jobs in 2023, up 112 from 2013.
| Kinnelon | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $187,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 21% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The peak summer temperature in Kinnelon is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Federal aid has come to Kinnelon households in 12 declared disasters; the latest was in 2021. On expected storm and flood damage, Kinnelon sits above 53% of U.S. communities. The national flood insurance program has paid 2 claims locally since 2011. 78% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 6%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
12 within 15 miles of the center of Kinnelon
About 6 of every 100 Kinnelon residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
Where Kinnelon’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 notable people were born in Kinnelon.
Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, US
Kinnelon () is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located approximately 33 miles (53 km) west of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,966, a decrease of 282 (−2.8%) from the 2010 census count of 10,248, which in turn reflected an increase of 883 (+9.4%) from the 9,365 counted in the 2000 census. It is a low-density, suburban community, with many parks and trails. Once known as Charlotteburg, Kinnelon was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 20, 1922, from portions of Pequannock Township, based on the results of a referendum passed on March 21, 1922. The borough's name comes from Franci…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Kinnelon.
It grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Butler (A) comes closest. Butler next door grades lower for schools (B to Kinnelon’s A) and higher for cost of living (C− to D−).
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinnelon | #48 | A | D− | A+ | A | A+ |
| West Milford Township | #164 | A− | C− | A | B− | A |
| Macopin | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Butler | #110 | A | C− | A− | B | A |
| Newfoundland | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Riverdale | #265 | B− | D | C | B+ | A |
| Montville Township | #112 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Rockaway Township | #162 | A− | D | B+ | B+ | A |
Montville Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Macopin and Newfoundland aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Kinnelon with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Kinnelon grades A overall, better than 94% of U.S. towns and #48 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−.
4 notable people were born here, including Ian Joyce and Bryan Gallego.
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