Best PlacesJamesburg, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Jamesburg, 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.
Jamesburg ranks 318th 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 Jamesburg
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.
Jamesburg's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jamesburg ranks high
- QuietBetter than 98% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of cities
- Household income$159,143 median, better than 94% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of cities
Where Jamesburg ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of cities
- Short commute37.8 minutes each way, better than only 2% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,499 a month, better than only 15% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Jamesburg
A household needs to earn about $185,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jamesburg home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $159,143, 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 Jamesburg's effective rate of 1.85%, 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 Jamesburg
Jamesburg runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Jamesburg.
Who works in Jamesburg, and how
Work in Jamesburg centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Jamesburg
Jamesburg has more parkland per resident than 76% of cities. The coast is about 21 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Jamesburg and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Jamesburg, month by month
Jamesburg sees roughly 64 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 Jamesburg
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 28 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jamesburg
Schools across Jamesburg average a B, better than 59% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Oak Tree Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Applegarth Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Warnsdorfer Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pine Brook SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Monroe Township Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Hammarskjold Upper Elementary SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Monroe Township High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- South Brunswick High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Manalapan High SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jamesburg school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jamesburg 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 Jamesburg against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Jamesburg suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of cities and 26% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Jamesburg
Is Jamesburg a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jamesburg ranks 318th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on quiet, few empty homes, and high incomes, and lowest on state finances and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jamesburg expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $618,902. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $159,143 median income, cost of living beats 93% of cities.
Is Jamesburg safe?
Yes, Jamesburg is safer than 86% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $144 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jamesburg?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 26. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of cities.
Is Jamesburg good for families?
Schools beat 59% of cities, crime safety beats 86%, and childcare runs $1,499 a month.
Compare Jamesburg with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jamesburg. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jamesburg 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.
Jamesburg detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jamesburg: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jamesburg: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jamesburg: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jamesburg: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jamesburg 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.