Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The everyday basics are strong; the price of a home is the catch. Its strongest is health (A+). Safety is another plus (A+). Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 95% of U.S. towns. What counts against it is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.0 million, 10.3 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Overall, that makes an A+, good for 15th of 466 in New Jersey. On that grade it does better than 98% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 8 places on the National Register.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · FBI crime data, 2025 · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24.
Where Madison beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Madison | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.5% | 9.6% |
Census counts: 1,756 in 1880, 16,937 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1825 and 7 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 Madison is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Madison. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw24 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw23 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw24 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw21 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 Madison, 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 Madison.
Madison carries less natural-hazard risk than most of New Jersey (mostly inland flooding) and trades workers with New York City and other neighbors, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
At 10.3 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $1.02M) costs more against local pay than in 89% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
The typical home value in Madison is about $1,019,000, up 8.2% in a year, 77% above the New Jersey typical home. Its median rent stands at $2,253 a month, above both New Jersey’s towns ($1,778 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). 64% of households live in a home they own in the town.
| Madison | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,253 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A− for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.02M.
The Madison Public School District runs its public schools. Three of its 8 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. Public school enrollment in the town: 1,048 students across 3 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Junior SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 555 | A |
| Madison High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 761 | A |
| Torey J. Sabatini SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 281 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is tooth loss: 4.5% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.6% statewide.
Madison beats the New Jersey average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 27% of Madison adults have high blood pressure, where New Jersey’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 35%. Among adults in the town, 16% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Madison | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 12% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.1% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Madison | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.5% | 9.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.8% | 14.3% |
| More binge drinkers | 19.5% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The biggest place to walk is Memorial Park, 107 acres with 2.4 miles of trail. Trails total 6.0 miles in 13 parks and preserves. Madison’s concentration of trails is 1.4 miles per square mile.
| Madison | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.2% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memorial Park | 2.4 mi | 107 |
| 2. Summerhill Park | 0.7 mi | 25 |
| 3. Zuck Arboretum | 0.4 mi | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Reported crimes fell from 79 to 32 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.
The property offense rate in Madison is 1.9 per 1,000 residents. The town recorded no violent offenses.
| Madison | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 89% of New Jersey towns, with expected losses of about $262 per resident a year; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
The national flood insurance program has paid 9 claims in Madison since 1978. For Madison, the FEMA risk score is 20 of 100. Federal aid has come to Madison households in 12 declared disasters; the latest was in 2021. FEMA puts 62% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 11% to cold waves.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Expect July afternoons of 86° and January nights of 21°, with about 24 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Madison has about as many jobs (6,524) as working residents, but only 610 people both live and work here. 27.7% of workers work from home, against 16.8% across New Jersey.
In Madison, 3.2% of residents live below the poverty line. Just 9% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in the town rose by 1,473, to 6,524. The median household income for Madison comes to $171,000.
| Madison | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $171,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 28% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.2% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
22 within 15 miles of the center of Madison
About 12 of every 100 Madison residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
2 colleges in town.
8 places in Madison on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Madison.
Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, US
Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,937, an increase of 1,092 (+6.9%) from the 2010 census count of 15,845, which in turn reflected a drop in population of 685 (−4.1%) from the 16,530 counted in the 2000 census. Madison is noted for its historic railroad station, which is located on the Morris & Essex Lines, one of the nation's first commuter railroads. Many wealthy residents of Manhattan relocated to Madison and its surrounding communities since the rail line offered direct transport to New York City. Madison is known as "the Rose City" and was named in honor of President James Madison.…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Madison.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | #15 | A+ | D− | A+ | A− | A+ |
| Florham Park | #43 | A | D− | A | A | A+ |
| Chatham Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Green Village | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Chatham Township and Green Village aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Madison with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Madison grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #15 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−.
Madison was settled in 1834 and has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 17 notable people were born here, including Don Newcombe and Ward Moore.
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