Best PlacesFarmingdale, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Farmingdale, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Farmingdale ranks 3,468th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Farmingdale
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Farmingdale's strengths and weaknesses
Where Farmingdale ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of towns
- Household income$137,700 median, better than 96% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of towns
Where Farmingdale ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,493 a month, better than only 4% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Farmingdale
A household needs to earn about $186,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Farmingdale home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $137,700, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Farmingdale's effective rate of 1.77%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Farmingdale
Farmingdale runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Farmingdale.
Who works in Farmingdale, and how
Work in Farmingdale centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Farmingdale
Farmingdale has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of towns and more parkland per resident than 89% of towns. The coast is about 13 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Farmingdale and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Farmingdale, month by month
Farmingdale sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 64° | 53° | 42° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Farmingdale
Newark Liberty International sits about 34 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.5 million passengers in 2025, with 242 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Farmingdale
Schools across Farmingdale average a C+, better than 43% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Allenwood Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Central Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Farmingdale ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wall Intermediate SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Howell Township Middle School SouthC · 34% proficient
- Howell Township Middle School NorthC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Freehold Township High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Howell High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Wall High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Farmingdale school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Farmingdale measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Farmingdale against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Farmingdale
Is Farmingdale a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Farmingdale ranks 3,468th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, fast internet, and population health, and lowest on state finances and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Farmingdale expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $629,347. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $137,700 median income, cost of living beats 90% of towns.
Is Farmingdale safe?
Yes, Farmingdale is safer than 93% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $118 per resident a year.
Compare Farmingdale with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Farmingdale. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Farmingdale represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Farmingdale detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Farmingdale: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Farmingdale: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Farmingdale: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Farmingdale: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Farmingdale detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.