Best PlacesHackettstown, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hackettstown, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hackettstown ranks 600th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Hackettstown
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.
Hackettstown's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hackettstown ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of cities
- QuietBetter than 95% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of cities
Where Hackettstown ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of cities
- Short commute33.3 minutes each way, better than only 10% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 18% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,398 a month, better than only 22% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Hackettstown
A household needs to earn about $128,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hackettstown home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $118,134; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Hackettstown's effective rate of 2.39%, 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 Hackettstown
Hackettstown'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 Hackettstown.
Who works in Hackettstown, and how
Work in Hackettstown centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Hackettstown
Hackettstown has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of cities and more parkland per resident than 87% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hackettstown and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Hackettstown, month by month
Hackettstown sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 68° | 55° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Hackettstown
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 36 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hackettstown
Schools across Hackettstown average a C+, better than 35% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Tinc Rd. Elementary SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Willow Grove Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Sandshore Rd. Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Long Valley Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Great Meadows Regional Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Mount Olive Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- West Morris Central High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Mount Olive High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Hackettstown High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hackettstown school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hackettstown 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 Hackettstown against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Hackettstown suits
Families
Schools land around the 35th percentile and crime safety beats 95%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of cities and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Hackettstown
Is Hackettstown a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hackettstown ranks 600th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low crime, quiet, 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 Hackettstown expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $403,485. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $118,134 median income, cost of living beats 74% of cities.
Is Hackettstown safe?
Yes, Hackettstown is safer than 95% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $129 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hackettstown?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 21. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 26% of cities.
Is Hackettstown good for families?
Schools beat 35% of cities, crime safety beats 95%, and childcare runs $1,398 a month.
Compare Hackettstown with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hackettstown. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hackettstown 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.
Hackettstown detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hackettstown: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hackettstown: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hackettstown: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hackettstown: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hackettstown 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.