Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Sparta Township grades A overall, 83rd among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. It is healthier than 98% of U.S. towns. It reports less crime per resident than 91% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $168K. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $617K for a typical one and 6.2 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Sparta Township’s median household income is $168,000, above both the New Jersey town median ($113,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area, at 1,806 acres with 7.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Sparta Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 86% of U.S. towns.
Where Sparta Township beats most towns.
Where Sparta Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Sparta Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,919 in 1850, a low of 1,017 in 1920, 19,600 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1820 and 5 maps from 1888 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sparta Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw39 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw39 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw40 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw40 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 Sparta 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 Sparta Township.
Sparta Township has less food insecurity than most of New Jersey, but it reports more crime than Hardyston Township and its other graded neighbors and has commutes longer than most of New Jersey.
Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 6.7% of its 16,077 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
25% of Sparta Township adults have obesity. Sparta Township beats the New Jersey average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 10% of Sparta Township adults report frequent physical distress.
| Sparta Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 22% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| What stands out | Sparta Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.7% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.6% | 11.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Sparta Township Public School District. Two of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparta Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 762 | A− |
| Sparta High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,025 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Sparta Township is safe by national standards, yet each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Hardyston Township (A) to Andover Township (A+). Violent crime is rare: 11 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Sparta Township is 2.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Sparta Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The average commute for its 8,778 working residents takes 37.5 minutes, against 30.5 across New Jersey.
Most working residents leave Sparta Township for work: only 13% work in town. Sparta Township’s average trip to work is 38 minutes. Jobs based in Sparta Township grew to 6,023 in 2023, 710 more than in 2013.
| Sparta Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 38 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 22% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Weldon Brook Wildlife Management Area | 13.3 mi | 1,521 |
| 2. Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area | 7.7 mi | 1,806 |
| 3. Mahlon Dickerson Reservation | 1.1 mi | 408 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sparta Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Sparta Township has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
87% of households own their home in Sparta Township. The typical Sparta Township home is worth about $617,000, up 2.7% in a year, 7% above the New Jersey typical home.
| Sparta Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 87% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,864 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Sparta Township
About 6 of every 100 Sparta Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
4 notable people were born in Sparta Township.
Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, US
Sparta is a township in Sussex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 19,600, a decrease of 122 (−0.6%) from the 2010 census count of 19,722, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,642 (+9.1%) from the 18,080 counted in the 2000 census. Sparta was organized as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 14, 1845, from portions of Byram Township, Frankford Township, Hardyston Township and (the now-defunct) Newton Township. The township was named after the existing community of Sparta, which had been settled and named years before, the name likely coming from Sparta, Greece. Ogdensburg borough was incorporat…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Sparta Township.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Andover Township (A) comes closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparta Township | #83 | A | D | A | B+ | A+ |
| Ogdensburg | — | — | C | — | B− | A− |
| Hardyston Township | #205 | B+ | D | A | B− | A− |
| Lafayette Township | — | — | C− | — | C+ | A− |
| Andover Township | #107 | A | C− | A+ | B+ | A |
| Jefferson Township | #121 | A | D | A+ | B− | A |
Ogdensburg and Lafayette Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Ogdensburg and Lafayette Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sparta Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Sparta Township grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #83 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health, A for safety and B+ 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.
4 notable people were born here, including Jim Miller and Sarah Escobar.
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