Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Rockaway Township grades A− overall, 162nd among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. It has 108 miles of trail. It is healthier than 88% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $142K. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $466K for a typical one and 4.7 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Rockaway Township’s trail density is 2.4 miles per square mile, above both New Jersey’s towns (0.7) and U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest place to walk is Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area, 5,415 acres with 51.5 miles of trail. Among 468 New Jersey towns, just 10 have a lower July high than Rockaway Township.
Where Rockaway Township beats most towns.
23.2% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Rockaway Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,483 in 1900, 6,598 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and a map from 1984 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rockaway Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw30 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw30 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw31 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 Rockaway Township, 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 Rockaway Township.
Rockaway Township has an unusually large share working from home, is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area | 51.5 mi | 5,415 |
| 2. Farny State Park | 6.7 mi | 1,033 |
| 3. Mount Hope Historical County Park | 3.6 mi | 392 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Rockaway Township School District. One of its 6 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copeland Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 799 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 53% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Against the 3,410 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rockaway Township’s, it is healthier than 55%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
15% of Rockaway Township adults have been diagnosed with depression, near the New Jersey town median (16%) and below the median of U.S. towns (23%). 25% of adults have obesity in Rockaway Township. Rockaway Township beats the New Jersey average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Rockaway Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 8.4% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Rockaway Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| More adults seeing a dentist | 69.5% | 65.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
25.3% of workers work from home, against 16.8% across New Jersey.
Most working residents leave Rockaway Township for work: only 6% work in town. 25% of Rockaway Township workers work from home. Jobs based in Rockaway Township fell to 8,114 in 2023, 1,825 fewer than in 2013.
| Rockaway Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 16% | 11% |
| Median household income | $142,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 10.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 58% of New Jersey’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 278 to 221 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 53 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Rockaway Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Rockaway Township has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Rockaway Township is 19°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New Jersey average. Rockaway Township has grown 9.3% since 2020, to 27,728 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 51% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across New Jersey.
| Rockaway Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 51% | 45% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 21% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.5 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 43.4, men 40.1.
| Rockaway Township | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.9% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.4% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.5% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.4% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.2% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.8% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.3% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.9% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.8% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.5% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.7% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.2% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 30.9% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.9% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Rockaway Township’s median rent is $2,315 a month.
| Rockaway Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,315 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7 within 15 miles of the center of Rockaway Township
About 6 of every 100 Rockaway Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
Where Rockaway Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Rockaway Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, US
Rockaway is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,598, an increase of 160 (+2.5%) from the 2010 census count of 6,438, which was a decline of 35 (−0.5%) from the 6,473 in the 2000 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Rockaway Township.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockaway Township | #162 | A− | D | B+ | B+ | A |
| Denville Township | #12 | A+ | C− | A+ | A− | A+ |
| White Meadow Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Newfoundland | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| West Milford Township | #164 | A− | C− | A | B− | A |
| Wharton | #284 | B− | D | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Rockaway | #102 | A | C− | A+ | B | A |
| Dover | #400 | C− | D | B+ | D | B− |
White Meadow Lake and Newfoundland aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Rockaway Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Rockaway Township grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #162 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 D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $467,000, 19% below 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.
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