Best PlacesHunterdon County, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hunterdon 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.
Hunterdon County ranks 67th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $153,375, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are state finances, property taxes, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Hunterdon 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 Hunterdon County
The parts of Hunterdon 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.
Whitehouse Station
Crime runs lower, local pay stretches further, and more households have young kids.
Lambertville & Stockton
It is quieter and streets are more walkable.
Annandale
Incomes run higher.
Flemington & Ringoes
Tree cover is thinner.
Lebanon & Califon
More adults hold degrees, though homes cost more.
Clinton, High Bridge & Glen Gardner
Scores close to Lebanon & Califon, except that biking is better here.
Milford, Pittstown & Frenchtown
Commutes are longer.
Hampton
Scores close to Milford, Pittstown & Frenchtown, except that disaster risk is lower here.
Scores across Hunterdon County run from about the 19th to the 99th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Hunterdon County's strengths and weaknesses
Hunterdon County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Few empty homes is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. High incomes and what local pay buys follow.
The one real hole is state finances, near the bottom of the country. Property taxes 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 Hunterdon County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$153,375 median, better than 99% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of counties
Where Hunterdon County ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,458 a month, better than only 3% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of counties
- Short commute33.0 minutes each way, better than only 7% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hunterdon County
A household needs to earn about $164,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hunterdon County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $153,375; 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 Hunterdon County's effective rate of 2.09%, 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 Hunterdon County
Hunterdon County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hunterdon County.
Who works in Hunterdon County, and how
Work in Hunterdon County centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Hunterdon County
Hunterdon County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of counties and less late-night activity than most counties. The coast is about 46 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hunterdon County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hunterdon County growing, and who is moving in?
Hunterdon County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the New York, NY metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hunterdon County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hunterdon County, month by month
Hunterdon County sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 67° | 52° | 39° |
| July | 90° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 71° | 56° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Hunterdon County
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 39 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hunterdon County
Schools across Hunterdon County average a B−, better than 68% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- New Hope-solebury Upper El SchA+ · 76% proficient
- Union Township Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Lebanon Borough SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- New Hope-solebury MsA+ · 69% proficient
- Timberlane Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Clinton Township Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Hunterdon County AcademiesA+ · 88% proficient
- New Hope-solebury HsA+ · 88% proficient
- North Hunterdon High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hunterdon County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hunterdon 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 Hunterdon County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hunterdon County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of counties and 22% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Hunterdon County
Is Hunterdon County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hunterdon County ranks 67th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, high incomes, and what local pay buys, and lowest on state finances and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hunterdon County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $533,825. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $153,375 median income, cost of living beats 99% of counties.
Is Hunterdon County safe?
Yes, Hunterdon County is safer than 99% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $131 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hunterdon County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 22. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 5% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Hunterdon County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Whitehouse Station, Lambertville & Stockton, and Annandale. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Hunterdon County good for families?
Schools beat 68% of counties, crime safety beats 99%, and childcare runs $1,458 a month.
Is Hunterdon County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 57% of counties. About 22% of workers already work from home.
Compare Hunterdon County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hunterdon County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hunterdon 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.
Hunterdon County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hunterdon County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hunterdon County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hunterdon County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hunterdon County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hunterdon 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.