Best PlacesMiddlesex County, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Middlesex 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.
Middlesex County ranks 288th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $123,485, 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 Middlesex 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 Middlesex County
The parts of Middlesex 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.
Edison & South Plainfield
More adults hold degrees, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Jamesburg, Monmouth Junction & Princeton Meadows
Prices have run up less, though streets are more car-dependent.
East Brunswick, South River & Spotswood
It is quieter and tree cover is thicker.
Piscataway & Middlesex
Commutes are shorter, though schools score lower.
Sayreville & Highland Park
Scores close to Piscataway & Middlesex, except that crime runs higher here.
Old Bridge & Matawan
More residents vote, though fewer households have young kids.
Carteret, Iselin & Woodbridge
Scores close to Old Bridge & Matawan, except that advertised internet is slower here.
New Brunswick & North Brunswick
Biking is better, though health care is harder to reach.
Perth Amboy, Parlin & South Amboy
Transit reaches more jobs, though health outcomes score lower.
Middlesex County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 6% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Middlesex County's strengths and weaknesses
Middlesex County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Big-city access is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Few empty homes and walkability 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 Middlesex County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of counties
- Household income$123,485 median, better than 98% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of counties
Where Middlesex County ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,499 a month, better than only 3% of counties
- Short commute31.2 minutes each way, better than only 12% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Middlesex County
A household needs to earn about $144,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Middlesex County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $123,485, 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 Middlesex County's effective rate of 1.98%, 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 Middlesex County
Middlesex County'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 Middlesex County.
Who works in Middlesex County, and how
Work in Middlesex County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Middlesex County
Middlesex County has more parkland per resident than 67% of counties. The coast is about 14 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Middlesex County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Middlesex County growing, and who is moving in?
Middlesex County has grown about 8% 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 Middlesex County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Middlesex County, month by month
Middlesex County sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 35° | 29° |
| April | 64° | 54° | 46° |
| July | 87° | 78° | 71° |
| October | 68° | 59° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Middlesex County
Newark Liberty International sits about 18 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.5 million passengers in 2025, with 242 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Middlesex County
Schools across Middlesex County average a C, better than 39% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Oak Tree Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Woodbrook Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- James Madison Intermediate SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Community Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- John Adams Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
- Thomas R Grover Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Edison Academy Magnet SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Woodbridge Academy Magnet SchoolA+ · 93% proficient
- West Windsor-plainsboro High School NorthA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Middlesex County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Middlesex 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 Middlesex County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Middlesex County suits
Families
Schools land around the 39th percentile and crime safety beats 70%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 18% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Middlesex County
Is Middlesex County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Middlesex County ranks 288th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, few empty homes, and walkability, 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 Middlesex County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $475,765. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $123,485 median income, cost of living beats 92% of counties.
Is Middlesex County safe?
Yes, Middlesex County is safer than 70% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $204 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Middlesex County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 29. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 25% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Middlesex County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Edison & South Plainfield, Jamesburg, Monmouth Junction & Princeton Meadows, and East Brunswick, South River & Spotswood. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Middlesex County good for families?
Schools beat 39% of counties, crime safety beats 70%, and childcare runs $1,499 a month.
Is Middlesex County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 92% of counties. About 18% of workers already work from home.
Compare Middlesex County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Middlesex County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Middlesex 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.
Middlesex County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Middlesex County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Middlesex County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Middlesex County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Middlesex County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Middlesex 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.