Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Somerville grades B overall, 243rd of 466 graded towns in New Jersey. It is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 93% of the country and the median household earns $104K. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $543K for a typical one and 5.5 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 43% of households own their home in Somerville, below both New Jersey’s towns (77%) and U.S. towns (73%). On civic life, just 35 of New Jersey’s 527 towns do better. Somerville has 7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Wallace House and Old Dutch Parsonage.
Where Somerville beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,236 in 1870, 12,346 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1751 and 6 maps from 1891 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Somerville is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 11%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Somerville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw37 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw35 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw37 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw33 mi BeachConey IslandMadison 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 · Coney Island: OptimumPx, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Somerville, 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 Somerville.
Somerville trades workers with Bridgewater Township and other neighbors and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey; it also trails Hillsborough Township and its other neighbors on schools.
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 67% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar.
27% of adults have high blood pressure in Somerville. Somerville beats the New Jersey average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 15% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Somerville.
| Somerville | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Somerville | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.1% | 5.6% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.3% | 3.1% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 72.2% | 77.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C+, Hillsborough Township highest at A−.
Its public schools are run by the Somerville Public School District. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Somerville High School, with 1,072 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Derveer Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 745 | C+ |
| Somerville High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,072 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
182 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 27 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 182 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Somerville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Somerville has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 22° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Somerville has about as many jobs (7,137) as working residents, but only 437 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Somerville for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2013, Somerville has added 369 jobs, to 7,137 in 2023. The average trip to work in Somerville is 28 minutes.
| Somerville | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 17% | 16% | 11% |
| Median household income | $104,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Somerville's reported crime rate is below New Jersey's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 19 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Somerville | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.2 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.8 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
| Somerville | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.2% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carol Pager Athletic Complex | — | 9 |
| 2. Wallace House & Old Dutch Parsonage State Park | 0.1 mi | 4 |
| 3. Walck Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Somerville’s median rent is $1,802 a month. The typical Somerville home is worth about $543,000, up 2.8% in a year, 6% below the New Jersey typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
6 within 15 miles of the center of Somerville
About 7 of every 100 Somerville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
7 places in Somerville on the National Register of Historic Places.
38 notable people were born in Somerville.
Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, US
Somerville is a borough in and the county seat of Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is located in the heart of the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan Area, located about 33 miles (53 km) from Manhattan and 20 miles (32 km) from Staten Island. The borough has grown to become a commercial hub for Central Jersey and commuter town of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 12,346, an increase of 248 (+2.0%) from the 2010 census count of 12,098, which in turn reflected a decline of 325 (-2.6%) from the 12,423 counted in the 2000 census. Somerville was originally formed as a town on March 25, 1863, within a p…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Somerville.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B; Raritan (B+) is closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerville | #243 | B | D | — | C+ | A |
| Bridgewater Township | #144 | A− | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Finderne | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hillsborough Township | #97 | A | D | A− | A− | A+ |
| Raritan | #206 | B+ | D− | — | B+ | A |
| Bridgewater Center | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Somerville, Bridgewater Township and Raritan report no FBI crime data of their own. Finderne and Bridgewater Center aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Somerville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Somerville grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #243 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health and C+ 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.
38 notable people were born here, including Lee Van Cleef and Frederica von Stade.
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