Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 26,320, settled in 1861.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Maplewood Township grades A− overall, 156th among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. It is healthier than 98% of U.S. towns. The median household earns $174K. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $960K, 9.7 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 73% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Maplewood Township, where New Jersey’s towns sit at 45% and U.S. towns at 29%. Maplewood Township has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them St. Mary's Abbey Church and Maplewood Municipal Building. Maplewood Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 80% of U.S. towns.
Where Maplewood Township beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Maplewood Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.4% | 11.3% |
21.9% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Maplewood Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,963 in 1870, a low of 1,078 in 1890, 25,684 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Maplewood Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw16 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw15 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw16 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw14 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 Maplewood 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 Maplewood Township.
Maplewood Township reports less crime than South Orange Village Township or any other graded neighbor and sends many workers across the state line, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
17 miles of trail wind through 4 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is South Mountain Reservation, 479 acres with 13.3 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in Maplewood Township: 4, covering 511 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. South Mountain Reservation | 13.3 mi | 479 |
| 2. Memorial Park | 0.8 mi | 22 |
| 3. Dehart Park | 0.1 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is Columbia High School, with 1,985 students. Of its 6 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. Its public schools are run by the South Orange-Maplewood School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maplewood Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 762 | B+ |
| Columbia High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,985 | B+ |
| Delia Bolden Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 518 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
At 9.7 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $961K) costs more against local pay than in 87% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
In Maplewood Township, the median rent is $2,269 a month. 75% of Maplewood Township households are owner-occupiers.
| Maplewood Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,269 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with New Jersey is no health insurance: 6.4% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 11.3% statewide.
18% of adults get no exercise outside work in Maplewood Township. In Maplewood Township, 27% of adults have high blood pressure, and 7.4% smoke cigarettes.
| Maplewood Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 12% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.4% | 11% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| What stands out | Maplewood Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.4% | 11.3% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.6% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
21% of working residents cross a state line to work. The average commute for its 11,032 working residents takes 38.5 minutes, against 30.5 across New Jersey.
The share of residents in Maplewood Township who live below the poverty line: 3.3%. Just 5% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. In Maplewood Township, the average commute is 39 minutes. Jobs in Maplewood Township grew by 543 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 6,453.
| Maplewood Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $174,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 30% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 39 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.3% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
86 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Households in Maplewood Township have drawn federal disaster aid in 11 declared disasters, most recently in 2021. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities. The town has had 86 paid flood insurance claims since 1978. 70% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by heat waves at 9%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A winter brings about 24 inches of snow, with January nights at 23° and July afternoons at 87°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Its B tops all 5 graded towns on its borders; South Orange Village Township (B) comes closest. At 14.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 55% of New Jersey’s graded towns.
Maplewood Township’s level of violent crime is 0.5 per 1,000 residents. The property crime rate for Maplewood Township comes to 8.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Maplewood Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
49 within 15 miles of the center of Maplewood Township
About 6 of every 100 Maplewood Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
Where Maplewood Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Maplewood Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
26 notable people were born in Maplewood Township.
Township in Essex County, New Jersey, US
Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 25,684, an increase of 1,817 (+7.6%) from the 2010 census count of 23,867, which in turn reflected a decline of one person from the 23,868 counted in the 2000 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Maplewood Township.
Irvington Township next door grades lower for schools (D to Maplewood Township’s B+) and higher for cost of living (C− to D−).
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maplewood Township | #156 | A− | D− | B | B+ | A+ |
| Irvington Township | #448 | D− | C− | D | D | C |
| Newark | #453 | D− | D | C− | D | D |
| South Orange Village Township | #186 | B+ | D− | B | B+ | A+ |
| Millburn Township | #113 | A | D | B− | A | A+ |
| Union Township | #290 | B− | D | B− | C+ | A− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Maplewood Township grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #156 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health, B 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−.
26 notable people were born here, including Ibtihaj Muhammad and Bea Miller.
_-_Full_(48124330357).jpg){kind=link}
_-_Central_Park,_NYC.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}