Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Stanhope grades A overall, 124th among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. The median household earns $139K. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 91% of U.S. towns and residents are healthier than 91% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $448K, 4.5 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Stanhope’s average trip to work is 38 minutes, above both New Jersey’s towns (30 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Plaster Mill is on the National Register of Historic Places. Only 8 of the 468 New Jersey towns we compare have a lower July high than Stanhope.
Where Stanhope beats most towns.
Where Stanhope’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 Stanhope is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,031 in 1910, 3,526 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stanhope. Close and well known come first.
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw40 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw39 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw40 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw39 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 Stanhope, 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 Stanhope.
Stanhope pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the New Jersey norm, carries less natural-hazard risk than most of New Jersey (mostly cold waves) and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey.
3.7 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. The trail density in Stanhope is 1.8 miles per square mile.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Lenape Valley Regional High School District. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Lenape Valley Regional High School, with 667 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Road SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 346 | B+ |
| Lenape Valley Regional High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 667 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
Stanhope’s property crime rate is 3.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Stanhope | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 59% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Against the 3,644 U.S. towns with household incomes like Stanhope’s, it is healthier than 67%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
26% of adults have obesity in Stanhope. Stanhope beats the New Jersey average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 19% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Stanhope.
| Stanhope | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 28% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 23% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 9.7% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Stanhope | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.5% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.2% | 11.3% |
| More adults with depression | 18.7% | 15.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Stanhope has 503 jobs for its 1,835 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 1,185 in 2013 to 503.
Most working residents leave Stanhope for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Stanhope has lost 682 jobs, to 503 in 2023. 2.9% of Stanhope residents live below the poverty line.
| Stanhope | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $139,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.9% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.6% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 87% of New Jersey towns, with expected losses of about $307 per resident a year; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1996, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Stanhope.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Stanhope grades A overall with a typical home of about $449K, below the New Jersey typical value; only 24 of the 132 New Jersey towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Stanhope home is worth about $449,000, up 3.8% in a year, 22% below the New Jersey typical home.
| Stanhope | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,964 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 86% | 77% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Stanhope has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 18° and about 30 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 12% of residents (17% statewide). Stanhope has grown 2.6% since 2020, to 3,614 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 45% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across New Jersey.
| Stanhope | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 45% | 29% |
| Median age | 39.3 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.9 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Stanhope | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.5% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.2% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.4% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.2% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 18% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.8% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.4% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.4% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.1% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.3% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.8% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.1% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 38.3% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.4% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,600, single groups can be off by several points
5 within 15 miles of the center of Stanhope
About 4 of every 100 Stanhope residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, US
Stanhope is a borough located in the southernmost portion of Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,526, a decrease of 84 (−2.3%) from the 2010 census count of 3,610, which in turn reflected an increase of 26 (+0.7%) from the 3,584 counted in the 2000 census. Stanhope was formed by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 24, 1904, from portions of Byram Township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Stanhope.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanhope | #124 | A | C− | A | B− | A |
| Mount Olive Township | #87 | A | C− | A | B+ | A |
| Netcong | #183 | B+ | C− | A− | B− | A |
| Byram Township | #221 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Byram Center | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Roxbury Township | #157 | A− | D | A− | B− | A |
| Port Morris | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hopatcong | #222 | B+ | C− | A | D | A |
Byram Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Byram Center and Port Morris aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Stanhope with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Stanhope grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #124 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 C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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