Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Sussex’s subject grades are a B+ for history and walkability; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. Crescent Theatre is on the National Register of Historic Places. Sussex has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Sussex beats most towns.
Where Sussex’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 Sussex is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 370 in 1880, 2,024 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1923 and 6 maps from 1888 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sussex. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
40 mi Stadium & arenaPrudential Center
32 mi LandmarkDrew University
8 mi MountainHigh Point
5 mi Ski areaMountain Creek44 runs · 1,001 ft verticalUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Prudential Center: Jim.henderson, Public domain · Drew University: CUBJONES83 (talk), Public domain · High Point: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mountain Creek: NHRHS2010, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sussex, 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 Sussex.
Sussex’s FEMA risk score is 79 of 100, against 52 of 100 in New Jersey’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 68% come from inland flooding and 17% from cold waves. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Sussex after 7 declared disasters, most recently in 2021.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The public schools here belong to the Sussex-Wantage Regional School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. 291 students attend the town’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sussex Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 291 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
In Sussex, 2.7% of working residents work locally, where New Jersey’s towns sit at 6.3% and U.S. towns at 8%. The town’s mean commuting time is 42 minutes. It had 198 jobs in 2023, down 207 from 2013. The top destinations are Wantage Township (7%), Newton (6%) and Sparta Township (5%).
| Sussex | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 42 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.7% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 4% in value. For households in Sussex, the share who are owner-occupiers is 36%. Also worth knowing: its rent at the middle of the market stands at $1,418 a month.
| Sussex | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 36% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,418 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among adults in Sussex, 14% report frequent physical distress. A fifth of adults here have been diagnosed with depression; 18% report frequent mental distress.
| Sussex | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Sussex | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.2% | 9.6% |
| More smokers | 15.5% | 10.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.1% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Sussex
About 4 of every 100 Sussex residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
5 notable people were born in Sussex.
Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, US
Sussex is a borough in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,024, a decrease of 106 (−5.0%) from the 2010 census count of 2,130, which in turn reflected a decline of 15 (−0.7%) from the 2,145 counted in the 2000 census. The county and borough are named for the historic county of Sussex in England.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 4.6 years of the area's median household income ($99,155 across the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
5 notable people were born here, including Bill Glynn and Grant Decker.
