Best PlacesMarshalltown, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Marshalltown, 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.
Marshalltown ranks 14,430th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Marshalltown
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.
Marshalltown's strengths and weaknesses
Where Marshalltown ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of towns
- Household income$120,519 median, better than 93% of towns
- Short commute23.3 minutes each way, better than 73% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 71% of towns
Where Marshalltown ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,338 a month, better than only 8% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Marshalltown
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Marshalltown home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $120,519, 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 Marshalltown's effective rate of 2.22%, 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 Marshalltown
Marshalltown runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, 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 Marshalltown.
Who works in Marshalltown, and how
Work in Marshalltown centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Marshalltown
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Marshalltown.
What the weather is like in Marshalltown, month by month
Marshalltown sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Marshalltown
The nearest airport, New Castle, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 19 miles away.
The best schools in and around Marshalltown
Schools across Marshalltown average a C+, better than 41% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mannington Township Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Penns Grove Middle SchoolF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Woodstown High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Pennsville Memorial High SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Penns Grove High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Marshalltown school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Marshalltown
Is Marshalltown a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Marshalltown ranks 14,430th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, what local pay buys, and high incomes, 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 Marshalltown expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $292,686. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $120,519 median income, cost of living beats 93% of towns.
Is Marshalltown safe?
Yes, Marshalltown is safer than 63% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $229 per resident a year.
Compare Marshalltown with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Marshalltown. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Marshalltown 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.
Marshalltown detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Marshalltown: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Marshalltown: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Marshalltown: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Marshalltown: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Marshalltown 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.