Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Mendham earns an A, ranked 59th of 466 in New Jersey. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally, the median household earns $212K, and its schools outperform 91% of the state's. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $820K, 8.3 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 4 places on the National Register. 81% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Mendham, above both the New Jersey town median (45%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Mendham is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. On civic life, just 7 of New Jersey’s 527 towns do better.
Where Mendham beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Mendham | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.3% | 14.3% |
Census counts: 1,129 in 1910, 4,981 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1986 and 7 maps from 1888 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Mendham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mendham. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw33 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw32 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw33 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw31 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 Mendham, 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 Mendham.
Mendham has schools in the top 5% of New Jersey and has less food insecurity than most of New Jersey, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 4.3% of its 3,858 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
11% of adults report frequent mental distress in Mendham. Only 10 of the 468 New Jersey towns we compare have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Mendham. 9.1% of adults report frequent physical distress in Mendham.
| Mendham | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 28% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 36% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 5.8% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Mendham | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.3% | 14.3% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 4.3% | 12.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.6% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A ranks #21 of the 465 New Jersey towns we grade for schools. Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $820K.
Its public schools are run by the West Morris Regional High School District. Its three schools are below. The largest public high school is West Morris Mendham High School, with 1,012 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilltop SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 289 | A+ |
| West Morris Mendham High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,012 | A+ |
| Mountain View SchoolTop results in townGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 208 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
5.9 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Mendham is 1.0 miles per square mile. McVickers Brook Preserve, at 94 acres with 1.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Mendham | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 10% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. McVickers Brook Preserve | 1.8 mi | 94 |
| 2. Schiff Nature Preserve | 0.7 mi | 41 |
| 3. India Brook Natural Area | 0.3 mi | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here fell from 1,534 in 2013 to 1,159. 33.4% of workers work from home, against 16.8% across New Jersey.
Most working residents leave Mendham for work: only 5% work in town. 33% of Mendham workers work from home. Jobs based in Mendham fell to 1,159 in 2023, 375 fewer than in 2013.
| Mendham | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 33% | 16% | 11% |
| Median household income | $212,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.5% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Mendham has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 30 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Mendham since 2011.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mendham's reported crime rate is well below New Jersey's. Mendham’s property crime rate is 2 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Mendham | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 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
At 8.3 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 81% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
9 within 15 miles of the center of Mendham
About 4 of every 100 Mendham residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Where Mendham’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Mendham on the National Register of Historic Places.
Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, US
Mendham Borough is a borough in southwestern Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,981, unchanged from the 2010 census, which in turn reflected a decline of 116 (−2.3%) from the 5,097 counted in the 2000 census. Located in the Raritan Valley region within the New York metropolitan area, the North Branch of the Raritan River begins in Mendham Borough and flows in a southwest direction towards neighboring Somerset County. Located on the northern end of the Somerset Hills region, the borough is known for its country homes and historic downtown. The Mendham Historic District was listed on the National Register of Hist…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Mendham.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mendham | #59 | A | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Mendham Township | #84 | A | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Brookside | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Mendham and Mendham Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Brookside isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Mendham with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Mendham grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #59 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $820,000, 43% above the New Jersey typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
2 notable people were born here, including Virginia Held and Temperance Wick.
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