Best PlacesJackson, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Jackson, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Jackson ranks 933rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Jackson
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.
Jackson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jackson ranks high
- QuietBetter than 98% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 97% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of cities
Where Jackson ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 4% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 11% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 11% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Jackson
A household needs to earn about $148,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jackson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $119,221, 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 Jackson's effective rate of 1.63%, 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 Jackson
Jackson's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Jackson.
Who works in Jackson, and how
Work in Jackson centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Jackson
Jackson has more parkland per resident than 79% of cities. The coast is about 20 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Jackson and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Jackson, month by month
Jackson sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 43° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Jackson
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jackson
Schools across Jackson average a C, better than 22% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Marshall W. Errickson SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Howard C. Johnson Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Elms Elementary SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- Howell Township Middle School SouthC · 34% proficient
- Carl W. Goetz Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Clifton T. Barkalow SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Freehold Township High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Jackson Memorial High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Jackson Liberty High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jackson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jackson 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 Jackson against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Jackson suits
Families
Schools land around the 22nd percentile and crime safety beats 92%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Jackson
Is Jackson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jackson ranks 933rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on quiet, tree cover, and low crime, and lowest on state finances and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jackson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $507,670. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $119,221 median income, cost of living beats 64% of cities.
Is Jackson safe?
Yes, Jackson is safer than 92% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $131 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jackson?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 26. That works out to about 66 pleasant days a year, more than 18% of cities.
Is Jackson good for families?
Schools beat 22% of cities, crime safety beats 92%, and childcare runs $1,478 a month.
Compare Jackson with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jackson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jackson 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.
Jackson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jackson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jackson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jackson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jackson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jackson 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.