Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,768, settled in 1865.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Matawan grades B overall, 247th of 466 graded towns in New Jersey. It is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. It is healthier than 86% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $123K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $659K, 6.6 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. No town among the 380 in New Jersey we compare has a lower property crime rate than Matawan. 52% of households own their home in Matawan, against 77% in New Jersey’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns. Matawan has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Maj. John Burrowes Mansion and Matawan Station.
Where Matawan beats most towns.
Where Matawan’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Matawan is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 13%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,437 in 1880, 9,565 in 2020. The archive holds 22 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 7 maps from 1888 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Matawan. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw29 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw18 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw28 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw29 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 Matawan, 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 Matawan.
Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 52% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Against the 5,254 U.S. towns with household incomes like Matawan’s, it is healthier than 65%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
15% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Matawan. Matawan beats the New Jersey average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 29% of adults feel lonely in Matawan.
| Matawan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 28% | 35% |
| What stands out | Matawan | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.9% | 11.3% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.7% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ravine Drive Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 395 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Matawan for work: only 4% work in town. Matawan’s average trip to work is 33 minutes. Jobs based in Matawan grew to 2,902 in 2023, 246 more than in 2013.
| Matawan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $123,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Matawan has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 25° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Matawan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.7% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gravelly Brook Park | — | 3 |
| 2. Terhune Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Adults 18 to 34 are 29% of residents (21% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 35% of residents (40% statewide). 14% of Matawan residents are 65 or older. Matawan has grown 2.2% since 2020, to 9,768 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Matawan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.7 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 45% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.2 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Matawan | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.5% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.7% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 23.2% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.3% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.6% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.6% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.3% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.2% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 11.9% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.2% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 30.2% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.2% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 13 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Matawan.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median rent in Matawan is $1,824 a month. Typical home values rose 5.1% in the year to September 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Matawan's reported crime rate is well below New Jersey's. Most reported incidents are property crimes. No violent crimes were reported in 2024.
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
10 within 15 miles of the center of Matawan
About 8 of every 100 Matawan residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
2 places in Matawan on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Matawan.
Borough in northern Monmouth County, New Jersey, US
Matawan () is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A historic community located near the Raritan Bay in the much larger Raritan Valley region, Raritan Bayshore the borough is a commuter town of New York City within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,565, an increase of 755 (+8.6%) from the 2010 census count of 8,810, which in turn reflected a decline of 100 (−1.1%) from the 8,910 counted in the 2000 census. Matawan was part of the Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan, an effort by nine municipalities in northern Monmouth County to reinvigorate the area's economy by emphasizing the traditional downtowns, d…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Matawan.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B; Old Bridge Township (B) is closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matawan | #247 | B | D | — | B− | A |
| Aberdeen Township | #218 | B+ | D | B | B− | A |
| Strathmore | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Morganville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Marlboro Township | #90 | A | D | B+ | A− | A+ |
| Old Bridge Township | #237 | B | D | — | B | A− |
Matawan and Old Bridge Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Strathmore and Morganville aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Matawan with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Matawan grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #247 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health 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.
5 notable people were born here, including Joseph D. Bedle and Elmer Hendrickson Geran.
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