Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Northfield grades A− overall, 178th of 466 graded towns in New Jersey. 18% of its land is conserved. It is healthier than 90% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $112K. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $396K for a typical one and 4.8 times the Atlantic City metro’s $82K median household income. 18% of the land in Northfield is conserved, where New Jersey’s towns sit at 11% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Jeremiah II or Edward Risley House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Northfield is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 78% of U.S. towns.
Where Northfield beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Northfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 866 in 1910, 8,434 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1912 and 6 maps from 1890 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Northfield, 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 Northfield.
Northfield pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the New Jersey norm, has a longer frost-free season than almost anywhere else in New Jersey and is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s.
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 57% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 9.2% of its 6,616 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
17% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Northfield, above the New Jersey town median (16%) but below the median of U.S. towns (23%). 27% of adults have obesity in Northfield. Northfield beats the New Jersey average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Northfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 28% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| What stands out | Northfield | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.2% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.5% | 11.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.2% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Northfield City School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield Community Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 457 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
3.4 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The trail density in Northfield is 0.9 miles per square mile. Birch Grove Park, at 308 acres with 3.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Birch Grove Park | 3.1 mi | 308 |
| 2. Stillwater Tract | — | 34 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Northfield grades A− overall with a typical home of about $396K, below the New Jersey typical value; only 24 of the 132 New Jersey towns graded A− or better can say that.
Northfield’s median rent is $1,835 a month. The typical Northfield home is worth about $396,000, up 3.9% in a year, 31% below the New Jersey typical home. 88% of Northfield households own their home.
| Northfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 88% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,835 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 11.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 53% of New Jersey’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 5 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Atlantic City Intl Ap weather station, 5 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 190 days, the highest of 941 New Jersey places with climate records.
Northfield has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 28° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Northfield has about as many jobs (3,744) as working residents, but only 416 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 21.8 minutes, against 30.5 across New Jersey.
Jobs based in Northfield grew to 3,744 in 2023, 311 more than in 2013. Most working residents leave Northfield for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Atlantic City (21%), Egg Harbor Township (9%) and Somers Point (5%).
| Northfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 9.5% | 17% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.6% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $112,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New Jersey average. 48% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across New Jersey.
| Northfield | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 48% | 45% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 43.7 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 18% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 70% are men (NJ 51%).
| Northfield | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.7% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.2% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.3% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.2% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.6% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.6% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.2% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.2% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.7% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.5% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.8% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.7% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 30.6% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.7% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1993, 24 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Northfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Northfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi Park & preservePine Barrens
6 mi Stadium & arenaBoardwalk Hall
4 mi LandmarkLucy the Elephant
7 mi Theme parkSteel Pier29 mi BeachLong Beach Island
7 mi Theme parkGillians Wonderland Pier and Island WaterparkPine Barrens: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Boardwalk Hall: Jack Boucher, Public domain · Lucy the Elephant: User:dtcdthingy 3:30 pm 30th July 2004 (Minolta Dimage X20), Public domain · Steel Pier: Make Lemons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gillians Wonderland Pier and Island Waterpark: Kevin Jarrett from Northfield, NJ, USA, CC BY 2.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Northfield
About 7 of every 100 Northfield residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
City in Atlantic County, New Jersey, US
Northfield is a city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 8,434, a decrease of 190 (−2.2%) from the 2010 census count of 8,624, which in turn reflected an increase of 899 (+11.6%) from the 7,725 counted in the 2000 census. Northfield was founded by Jeremiah Leeds; he has a gravestone at Oxford Circle, but it is not certain that he was buried there. Northfield was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 21, 1905, from portions of Egg Harbor Township. A portion of Egg Harbor Township was transferred to Northfield in 1931, and then reverted to Egg Harbor Township in 1933. The city cal…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Northfield.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield | #178 | A− | C− | B+ | B | A |
| Egg Harbor Township | #373 | C | D | C+ | C+ | B+ |
| Bargaintown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Linwood | #142 | A− | C− | A− | A− | A |
Bargaintown isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Northfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Northfield grades A− overall, better than 75% of U.S. towns and #178 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 C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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