Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, settled in 1904, counts 11,205 residents.
West Caldwell Township’s strongest is health (A+). This New Jersey town grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns. It ranks 69th of 466 in New Jersey. Incomes are another plus (A+): the median household earns $158K. The drawback is cost of living (D): the typical home is worth about $796K, 8 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. On the outdoors, just 39 of New Jersey’s 530 towns do better. The town is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. Its trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile, above both the New Jersey town median (0.7) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · USGS PAD-US · OpenStreetMap.
Where West Caldwell Township beats most towns.
| Widest gap | West Caldwell Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7% | 14.3% |
18.7% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far West Caldwell Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 494 in 1910, 11,012 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1937 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Caldwell Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw18 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw17 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw18 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 West Caldwell 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 West Caldwell Township.
West Caldwell Township has less food insecurity than most of New Jersey and is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
Trails total 8.9 miles in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is West Essex Park, 489 acres with 2.5 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Essex Park | 2.5 mi | 489 |
| 2. Wrensch Park | — | 14 |
| 3. West Essex Industrial Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is James Caldwell High School, with 749 students. Of its 7 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. Its public schools are run by the Caldwell-West School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 409 | B+ |
| James Caldwell High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 749 | A− |
| Wilson Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 214 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 7% of its 21,119 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
In West Caldwell Township, 17% of adults have been diagnosed with depression. On the CDC’s 32 measures, West Caldwell Township is ahead of New Jersey on 21 and behind on 1.
| West Caldwell Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 28% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 32% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.4% | 11% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 36% |
| What stands out | West Caldwell Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7% | 14.3% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.9% | 9.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 8 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $796K) costs more against local pay than in 80% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
Zillow values the typical West Caldwell Township home at about $796,000, up 5.6% in a year, 38% above the New Jersey typical home. Among households here, 86% are owner-occupiers. The typical rent for West Caldwell Township comes to $1,877 a month.
| West Caldwell Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,877 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 86% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 9.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 64% of New Jersey’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
West Caldwell Township’s violent crime rate is 0.4 per 1,000 residents. For West Caldwell Township, the property crime rate is 9.7 per 1,000 residents.
| West Caldwell Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
A winter brings about 24 inches of snow, with January nights at 22° and July afternoons at 86°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Federal aid has come to West Caldwell Township households in 11 declared disasters; the latest was in 2021. Compared with nearly two thirds of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage here is lower. FEMA puts 71% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 8% to earthquakes. 44 flood insurance claims have been paid locally since 1979.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Commuting out is the norm in West Caldwell Township: 6% of working residents work locally. This New Jersey town had 7,577 jobs in 2023, down 1,098 from 2013. For residents locally, the share who live below the poverty line is 3.6%. Half of commuters travel less than 10 miles.
| West Caldwell Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $158,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.6% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 15% | 17% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
31 within 15 miles of the center of West Caldwell Township
About 5 of every 100 West Caldwell Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
4 notable people were born in West Caldwell Township.
Township in Essex County, New Jersey, US
West Caldwell is a township located in the West Essex area in northwestern Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located approximately 16 miles (26 km) west of Manhattan and 6 miles (9.7 km) northwest of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 11,012, an increase of 253 (+2.4%) from the 2010 census count of 10,759, which in turn reflected a decline of 474 (−4.2%) from the 11,233 counted in the 2000 census. West Caldwell was originally incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 24, 1904, from portions of Caldwell Township (now known as Fairfield Township). In 1981, the borough was one of seven Essex County m…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with West Caldwell Township.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Caldwell Township | #69 | A | D | A− | A− | A+ |
| Caldwell | #54 | A | D− | A | A− | A+ |
| East Hanover Township | #190 | B+ | D− | B− | A− | A+ |
| Essex Fells | — | — | D− | B | A | A+ |
| Roseland | #96 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| North Caldwell | #108 | A | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Fairfield Township | #216 | B+ | D− | B− | A− | A+ |
Essex Fells has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Roseland and North Caldwell report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare West Caldwell Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. West Caldwell Township grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #69 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and A− 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 Neale Godfrey and Mattea Conforti.
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