Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Metuchen grades A overall, ranked 85th of 466 in New Jersey. Few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Residents are healthier than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $158K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $688K for a typical one and 6.9 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 67% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Metuchen, above both New Jersey’s towns (45%) and U.S. towns (29%). On civic life, just 22 of New Jersey’s 527 towns do better. Metuchen has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Mary Wilkins Freeman House and Ayers-Allen House.
Where Metuchen beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Metuchen | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 11.3% |
13,574 counted in 2010 and 15,049 in 2020; an estimated 15,363 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Metuchen is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 10%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 770 in 1890, 15,049 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1917 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Metuchen. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw27 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw25 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw20 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw27 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 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Coney Island: OptimumPx, Public domain · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Metuchen, 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 Metuchen.
Metuchen has less no health insurance than most of New Jersey, pairs an A− for schools with high home prices and is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s.
The biggest park or preserve is Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve, at 48 acres. In 11 parks and preserves, walkers have 3.9 miles of trail. For Metuchen, the concentration of trails is 1.4 miles per square mile.
| Metuchen | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.6% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve | 0.7 mi | 48 |
| 2. Myrtle-Charles Park | 0.6 mi | 11 |
| 3. Woodwild Park | 0.5 mi | 5 |
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 $688K.
Of its 9 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. The public schools here belong to the Metuchen Public School District. Public school enrollment in the town: 850 students across 2 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edgar Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 761 | A |
| Metuchen High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 718 | A |
| Campbell Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 1–4 | Grades 1–4 | 698 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is no health insurance: 5.8% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 11.3% statewide.
In Metuchen, 9.3% of adults report frequent physical distress. For adults in the town, the share who have been diagnosed with depression is 14%.
| Metuchen | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.6% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Metuchen | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 11.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.4% | 14.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 12.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 51% of New Jersey’s graded towns.
In Metuchen, the violent offense rate is 1 per 1,000 residents. The town’s rate of thefts and burglaries comes in at 8.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Metuchen | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In July, afternoons reach 87°; in January, nights fall to 23°, and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 2.4% in value. Metuchen’s rent at the middle of the market stands at $2,078 a month. Homes sold in Metuchen spent a median 49 days on the market.
| Metuchen | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,078 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
The average commute for its 6,537 working residents takes 38.3 minutes, against 30.5 across New Jersey. 26.9% of workers work from home, against 16.8% across New Jersey.
The average commute in Metuchen is 38 minutes. Just 6% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Among workers in the town, 27% work from home. For half of commuters, work is under 14 miles away.
| Metuchen | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 38 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $158,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 27% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.6% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Federal aid has come to Metuchen households in 9 declared disasters; the latest was in 2021. On expected storm and flood damage, Metuchen sits below 57% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts two thirds of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 10% to earthquakes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
14 within 15 miles of the center of Metuchen
About 5 of every 100 Metuchen residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
5 places in Metuchen on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Metuchen.
Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, US
Metuchen ( mə-TUTCH-ən) is a suburban borough in Middlesex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is a commuter town of New York City, located in the heart of the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan area. The borough, along with Edison (which completely surrounds Metuchen), is a regional commercial hub for Central New Jersey. The borough is 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of New Brunswick, 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Newark, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Jersey City, and 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 15,049, an increase of 1,475 (+10.9%) from the 2010 census count of 13,574, which in tu…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Metuchen grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #85 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health, B+ 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.
9 notable people were born here, including David Copperfield and Tom Ruegger.
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