Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Where it does best is health: it is healthier than 97% of U.S. towns. Overall, Springfield Township earns an A−: better than just over three quarters of U.S. towns, and 177th of 466 in New Jersey. The catch is cost of living (D): the typical home is worth about $702K, 7.1 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Hazard risk is weaker too (C): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 67% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. This New Jersey town has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Baltusrol Golf Club and Hutchings Homestead. The town is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. The median household earns $156K. Its trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile, against 0.7 in New Jersey’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places · OpenStreetMap.
Where Springfield Township beats most towns.
Baltusrol Golf Club is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,360 in 1810, a low of 770 in 1870, 17,178 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1859 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Springfield Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Springfield Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw20 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw19 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw20 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw17 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 Springfield 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 Springfield Township.
Springfield Township trades workers with New York City and other neighbors, has less tooth loss than most of New Jersey and is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s.
Across 10 parks and preserves: 6.8 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is Hidden Valley Park, at 234 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Meisel Avenue Park | 1 mi | 25 |
| 2. Hidden Valley Park | 0.8 mi | 234 |
| 3. Watchung Reservation | 0.4 mi | 28 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Below: Two of its 7 schools, each with why it was picked. The public schools here belong to the Springfield Public School District. The 4 public schools in Springfield Township teach 1,537 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward V. Walton Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 511 | – |
| Jonathan Dayton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 654 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is tooth loss: 5.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.6% statewide.
Springfield Township: 8.3% of adults smoke cigarettes. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Springfield Township is ahead of New Jersey on 16 and behind on 1. Two figures for adults in the town: 25% have obesity, 13% report frequent mental distress.
| Springfield Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Springfield Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.2% | 9.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.5% | 14.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.7% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The going rate for rent for Springfield Township comes to $2,188 a month. The typical home value locally is about $702,000, about the same as a year ago, 22% above the New Jersey typical home. Among households in the town, 67% own their home.
| Springfield Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,188 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expect July afternoons of 86° and January nights of 23°, with about 24 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 13 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 52% of New Jersey’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 227 to 153 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
For Springfield Township, the level of violent crime is 0.8 per 1,000 residents. The rate of thefts and burglaries locally is 7.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Springfield Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected losses in Springfield Township break down as 80% from inland flooding and 6% from earthquakes. Since 1978, 337 flood insurance claims have been paid out locally. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2021.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Springfield Township has about as many jobs (9,556) as working residents, but only 485 people both live and work here.
Only 5% of working residents stay in Springfield Township for work; the rest commute out. For workers locally, the share who work remotely from home is 24%. The top destinations are New York (14%), Newark (6%) and Union Township (4%). The town’s average commute is 28 minutes.
| Springfield Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $156,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 24% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.7% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
30 within 15 miles of the center of Springfield Township
About 4 of every 100 Springfield Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
4 places in Springfield Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Springfield Township.
Township in Union County, New Jersey, US
Springfield Township is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located on a ridge in northern-central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 17,178, the highest recorded at any decennial census, an increase of 1,361 (+8.6%) from the 2010 census count of 15,817, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,388 (+9.6%) from the 14,429 counted in the 2000 census. Springfield was formed as a township on April 14, 1794, from portions of Elizabeth Township and Newark Township, while the area was still part of Essex County, and was incorpo…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Springfield Township.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield Township | #177 | A− | D | B+ | B | A+ |
| Union Township | #290 | B− | D | B− | C+ | A− |
| Millburn Township | #113 | A | D | B− | A | A+ |
| Summit | #51 | A | D | A− | A | A+ |
| Short Hills | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kenilworth | #235 | B | D− | A− | C+ | B+ |
| Vauxhall | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Westfield | #14 | A+ | D | A | A | A+ |
Short Hills and Vauxhall aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Springfield Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Springfield Township grades A− overall, better than 76% of U.S. towns and #177 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. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
8 notable people were born here, including Toni Kalem and Jonas Coe.
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