PreaknessNJ
A town of 18,520, settled in 1871.
Is Preakness a good place to live?
57% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Preakness, above both New Jersey’s towns (45%) and U.S. towns (29%). The biggest park or preserve is Lance Corporal Ralph Valt Memorial Park, at 37 acres. We don’t grade Preakness yet; the figures below are still real.
Central Park and 541 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Preakness. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw17 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw18 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaYankee StadiumPhoto credits
Central Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Madison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 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 · Yankee Stadium: Matt Boulton, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Moving to Preakness: who provides what
Preakness is unincorporated, so Passaic County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Preakness.
In Preakness, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Preakness has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents commute out of Preakness
Most working residents leave Preakness for work: only 7% work in town. At $133,000, Preakness’ median household income is above both the New Jersey town median ($113,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). 3.3% of residents live below the poverty line in Preakness.
| Preakness | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $133,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.3% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 17% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
11.1% of Preakness is conserved land
0.8 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. Preakness’ trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shai Shacknai Memorial Park | 0.4 mi | 32 |
| 2. Lance Corporal Ralph Valt Memorial Park | — | 37 |
| 3. MacDonald Drive Park | — | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
How healthy Preakness is
Preakness beats the New Jersey average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 24% of Preakness adults have obesity.
| Preakness | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 36% |
| What stands out | Preakness | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.2% | 9.6% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.1% | 7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Moderate risk in Preakness, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 48 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Preakness.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Preakness | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,918 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Preakness
Colleges nearby
29 within 15 miles of the center of Preakness
About 7 of every 100 Preakness residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
About Preakness
Populated place in Passaic County, New Jersey, US
Preakness is an unincorporated community located within Wayne in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 census, Preakness had a population of 18,487. The colt Preakness, after whom the Preakness Stakes Thoroughbred horse race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland is named, was owned by Milton H. Sanford's Preakness Stables located at the corner of Valley Road and Preakness Avenue. Preakness is the birthplace of Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame trainer, Barry Littlefield and his brother Fred Littlefield, a jockey who won the 1888 Preakness Stakes. The name itself was said to have come from the Native American Minisi name Pra-qua-les for "Quail Woods" in the…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 5.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 220 ft
Preakness’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Preakness.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preakness | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| William Paterson University of New Jersey | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Packanack Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wayne Township | #214 | B+ | D− | C+ | B+ | A+ |
| Haledon | #406 | C− | D | — | D | B |
| Totowa | #278 | B− | D− | — | C+ | A− |
Haledon and Totowa report no FBI crime data of their own. Preakness, William Paterson University of New Jersey and Packanack Lake aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Preakness with a neighbor →
Questions about Preakness
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Preakness, NJ a good place to live?
We don’t grade Preakness yet; the figures below are still real.