Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Vernon Township grades B+ overall, 204th among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. It reports less crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns. Residents are healthier than 85% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $294K, 3 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Vernon Township’s average trip to work is 41 minutes, where New Jersey’s towns sit at 30 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. On walkability, just 28 of New Jersey’s 530 towns do worse. The biggest place to walk is Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 2,949 acres with 8.8 miles of trail.
Where Vernon Township beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,708 in 1810, a low of 1,279 in 1930, 22,358 in 2020. The archive holds 19 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 5 maps from 1891 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 Vernon Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vernon Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
Big draw40 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw40 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw40 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaYankee StadiumUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · 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 · Yankee Stadium: Matt Boulton, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vernon 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 Vernon Township.
Vernon Township keeps more of its land conserved than most of New Jersey, has homes that are cheap against local pay and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey.
Its 26,262 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other New Jersey town.
117 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Vernon Township’s trail density is 1.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area | 18 mi | 2,096 |
| 2. Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge | 8.8 mi | 2,949 |
| 3. Pochuck Mountain Sanctuary | 0.7 mi | 222 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Vernon Township School District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Vernon Township High School, with 906 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Meadow Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 617 | C+ |
| Vernon Township High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 906 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.1 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Vernon Township is 1.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Vernon Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 3 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $294K) costs less against local pay than in 95% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living.
92% of Vernon Township households own their home. The typical Vernon Township home is worth about $294,000, down 1.1% in a year, 49% below the New Jersey typical home.
| Vernon Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 92% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,773 a month | $1,780 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 53% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar.
19% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Vernon Township. Vernon Township beats the New Jersey average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 27% of adults have obesity in Vernon Township.
| Vernon Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 28% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 9.7% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Vernon Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.8% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.8% | 11.3% |
| More adults with depression | 19% | 15.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 10,720 working residents takes 40.9 minutes, against 30.5 across New Jersey.
Most working residents leave Vernon Township for work: only 11% work in town. Since 2013, Vernon Township has lost 375 jobs, to 2,892 in 2023. The top destinations are New York (4%), Hardyston Township (3%) and Sparta Township (2%).
| Vernon Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $116,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.2% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 17% | 16% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No town among the 468 in New Jersey we compare has a lower July high than Vernon Township. Vernon Township has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 17 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Vernon Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New Jersey average. Vernon Township has grown 2.7% since 2020, to 22,965 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across New Jersey.
| Vernon Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 44.8 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 45% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 18% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.6 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Vernon Township | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.2% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.1% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.7% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.7% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.8% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.2% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.6% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.2% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.3% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.5% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.4% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
None within 15 miles of Vernon Township; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Vernon Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
59.1% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
4 places in Vernon Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, US
Vernon Township is a township in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located about a one-hour drive from New York City and is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 22,358, a decrease of 1,585 (−6.6%) from the 2010 census count of 23,943, which in turn reflected a decline of 743 (−3.0%) from the 24,686 counted in the 2000 census. It is both the most populous municipality and the largest in area in the county. Vernon is home to Mountain Creek (formerly Great Gorge and Vernon Valley), a ski resort and water park as well as the Crystal Springs Resort's Minerals Hotel and Elements Spa. The Hidden Valley ski re…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Vernon Township.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Township | #204 | B+ | C− | A+ | B− | A |
| Wantage Township | #369 | C | C− | — | C | A− |
| Hardyston Township | #205 | B+ | D | A | B− | A− |
| West Milford Township | #164 | A− | C− | A | B− | A |
Wantage Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Vernon Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Vernon Township grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #204 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−.
2 notable people were born here, including John Winans and Ross Winans.
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