Best PlacesGloucester County, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Gloucester County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Gloucester County ranks 417th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $113,323, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are property taxes, state finances, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Gloucester County
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.
The best areas in Gloucester County
The parts of Gloucester County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Swedesboro, Mullica Hill & Mantua
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more households have young kids.
Sewell & Blackwood
Fewer homes sit empty.
Pitman & Wenonah
Tree cover is thicker and more adults hold degrees.
Williamstown, Franklinville & Clayton
It is quieter.
Paulsboro, Thorofare & Gibbstown
Disaster risk is higher.
Woodbury & Westville
Prices have run up more and fewer residents vote.
Glassboro
Health care is harder to reach and schools score lower.
Gloucester County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 5% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Gloucester County's strengths and weaknesses
Gloucester County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Big-city access is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Low crime and few empty homes follow.
The one real hole is property taxes, near the bottom of the country. State finances and childcare costs also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Gloucester County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of counties
- Household income$113,323 median, better than 96% of counties
Where Gloucester County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,434 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Gloucester County
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gloucester County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $113,323, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Gloucester County's effective rate of 2.46%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Gloucester County
Gloucester County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Gloucester County.
Who works in Gloucester County, and how
Work in Gloucester County 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 80%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Gloucester County
Gloucester County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of counties and more parkland per resident than 74% of counties. The coast is about 49 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Gloucester County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Gloucester County growing, and who is moving in?
Gloucester County has grown about 7% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Philadelphia, PA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Gloucester County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Gloucester County, month by month
Gloucester County sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Gloucester County
Philadelphia International sits about 10 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 14.8 million passengers in 2025, with 179 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Gloucester County
Schools across Gloucester County average a C−, better than 26% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Harrison Township Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Wenonah Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Samuel Mickle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pleasant Valley SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Walter Hill SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Logan Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Gloucester County Institute Of TechnologyB+ · 53% proficient
- Kingsway Regional High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Washington Township High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gloucester County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gloucester County 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 Gloucester County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Gloucester County suits
Families
Schools land around the 26th percentile and crime safety beats 96%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Gloucester County
Is Gloucester County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gloucester County ranks 417th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, low crime, and few empty homes, and lowest on property taxes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gloucester County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $321,494. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $113,323 median income, cost of living beats 96% of counties.
Is Gloucester County safe?
Yes, Gloucester County is safer than 96% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $148 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Gloucester County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 27. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 13% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Gloucester County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Swedesboro, Mullica Hill & Mantua, Sewell & Blackwood, and Pitman & Wenonah. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Gloucester County good for families?
Schools beat 26% of counties, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $1,434 a month.
Is Gloucester County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 62% of counties. About 15% of workers already work from home.
Compare Gloucester County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gloucester County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gloucester County 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.
Gloucester County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gloucester County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gloucester County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gloucester County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gloucester County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gloucester County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.